Chairman,
Mr. Secretary General,
Mr. Deputy Secretary general,
Directors of the Bureaux,
Your excellencies,
Dear colleagues and friends,
Four years after Guadalajara, I am happy to see and join you all again for the most important event of our organisation. It's been a fruitful four years, even though the challenges were neither few, nor easy to handle. Humanity faced not only natural disasters, pandemies and calamities, but also conflicts and man-driven hardships. Yet, communications always have made the difference, and I do believe that our work here at ITU has indirectly helped save the lives of millions. So we come here today wiser, better and ever more prepared to take the best decisions meant at improving the telecom sector for the benefit of humanity. As we start this edition of the plenipotentiary conference, I beg you to keep in mind that without communications there are no communities, so there are not any shared values and understanding, compassion and progress.
For Romania in particular, these four years that have passed have a special meaning indeed, as they were a highlight of our nearly a century and a half history as member of ITU. The representatives of Romania were actively involved in ITU's activities, working groups and projects, investing time, experience and passion to achieve the goals of the Union.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It's been both a great honor and an important responsibility for Romania and myself to hold the Presidency of the Council in 2013, and I hope it is not just me saying that we did a good job. Even though it has not been an easy task, being responsible for the smooth undergoing of the Council allowed us to better understand the sinergies that animate the Union.
Today, we are more than ever prepared to take over a new mandate as member of the Council. We are aware of the responsibility that comes with this candidature and we are ready to fully assume it. We count on your support and we thank you for the faith entrusted to us along all these years. We shall live up to our promises.
Romania has always been the voice of reason and a balance factor in all contexts, especially when dealing with sensitives issues, as it always stayed true to the principle that guides its steps: we believe in cooperation and good understanding among all nations. But as actions speak louder than words, let me bring to your attention two of the international cooperation projects that are very dear to my heart - one is the regional group initiated by Romania on spectrum coordination issues, which is meant at enhancing cooperation between Central and Eastern Europe states, while the other is the French speaking regulators network, FRATEL, that I had the honor to chair this past year.
The government of Romania is dedicated to deploy broadband internet and massively invests to this end. As you may know, Romania is among the top ten countries in the world in what regards the internet speed, in a top that is led by our host country, South Korea. Which brings me to my next important point: thanking the government of South Korea, the mayor of Busan city and the korean people for making PP14 such an exciting and pleasant experience.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is somehow a sad edition of the plenipotentiary conference as we say goodbye to one of our dearest friends, Dr. Toure, whose contribution to improving the ICT world is priceless. We hope that our cooperation we'll continue, no matter what the future holds for Dr. Toure, and we are convinced that his legacy will thrive as the new secretary general will definitely take it to a whole new level.
The future waits for no one, so we make haste to wish you all a successful conference and please remember, my dear colleagues, that communications build communities, and this is in the end what really matters.
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