Good afternoon. I am very pleased to be with you here today.
When I proposed the creation of this group at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference held in Marrakesh in 2002, I never thought that I would be attending a meeting of the group 20 years later!
I was the Deputy Head of the UK delegation at PP-02, and at a meeting of Commonwealth ministers to discuss the proposal it was agreed that it was a good idea, and I was asked to chair the group, which I did until I was elected Director of TSB four years later at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2006.
It was agreed that the group would work at official level between ITU world conferences and would be chaired by a minister during the conferences.
At the meeting of the CTO Council in Kampala, Uganda, in September 2003, the Council agreed that CTO would provide secretarial support to the group.
The group proved to be very effective, both in helping Commonwealth countries achieve their objectives, as well as in helping ITU conferences reach consensus more quickly. This is due to several factors, not least of which is the fact that Commonwealth countries are key players in four of the six ITU regions, and so can influence their region to submit proposals to the conference in line with the Commonwealth Common Objectives agreed within the group. If 4 of the 6 regions submit similar proposals, it is very likely they will be accepted.
The group also agreed that the Commonwealth would support candidatures from Commonwealth countries, if there was no competition between them. This applied to elections of the 5 elected officials as well as RRB, and Council, and this also proved very successful.
The group can also help with coordination during a conference, which is also very useful.
Unfortunately, the group went off track for a few years and was given Sector Membership of the ITU, which did not make sense since it is not a legal entity, and all members are in any case members of ITU, as is the CTO. It caused a lot of confusion. That is why this sector membership is on the list of those the secretariat proposes cancelling.
Since the sad passing of our beloved Queen Elizabeth II, who as we know was very committed to the Commonwealth, there have been some questioning the future of the Commonwealth. From my experience, I have seen first-hand what a powerful network the Commonwealth can be. There is, I have found, a family feel to Commonwealth meetings. People tend to have common views on most things, and so it is not difficult to agree on common objectives. For me that strength can be summed-up in my favourite three words: collaboration, coordination, and cooperation.
As you know, this will be my last ITU conference since my second term as Deputy Secretary-General is ending, so let me take this opportunity to thank the Commonwealth countries for your support to me over many years, including of course in a total of 11 elections – if you count all the ballots!
I am very pleased to see the Commonwealth ITU Group is being reinvigorated. I hope it will adopt again the proven very successful model it used to follow.
As His Majesty King Charles III said at this year’s CHOGM: “our Commonwealth Family of some of the world’s most vulnerable and some of the world’s wealthiest nations has the ability, indeed the obligation, to be a force for global public good.”
So, I wish you all every success in promoting the use of ICTs as a force for global public good, here at this conference, and in the future.
Finally, I wish all Commonwealth candidates good luck!
Thank you.