His Excellency Engineer Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Our GSR-25 Chair, His Excellency Engineer Haytham AlOhali, Governor of the Communications, Space & Technology Commission, ITU Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan Martin, all the Ministers here present, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Heads of Regulatory Authorities, Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends.
It is my great honour to address you on this historic occasion as we celebrate 25 years of the Global Symposium for Regulators.
For a quarter of a century now, GSR has been the world's regulatory compass a cornerstone of global digital development providing a steady hand through waves of unprecedented technological change.
And today, as we mark 25 years of GSR, we find ourselves at the dawn of a new era.
GSR-25 is our collective response.
It is where we define the future moving from traditional oversight to actively building the digital ecosystems of tomorrow.
Indeed, effective regulation is the difference between mere change and genuine development in the spirit of our theme, "Regulation for Sustainable Digital Development".
Over the course of today, I have already been impressed by the commitment you have all shown to that theme. I would especially like to thank our hosts, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in particular, His Excellency Engineer Abdullah Alswaha, Minister of Communications and Information Technology and His Excellency Engineer Haytham AlOhali, Governor of the Communications, Space & Technology Commission and, of course, our esteemed GSR-25 Chair.
We are deeply grateful for their outstanding efforts and for a partnership that extends far beyond this event.
Together, we have collaborated on critical global issues on Child Online Protection; on inclusion, through the Network of Women in ITU-D; and on tackling the challenge of E-Waste.
This spirit of action-oriented partnership continues. A powerful example is the new Global Economic Model Study, or GEMS, which we will soon release, jointly with our hosts, CST. This project will develop a robust economic modelling tool to guide the investment decisions needed to connect the world. Looking ahead, our collaboration will break new ground with the planned Global Innovation Centre on Quantum Technologies right here in Riyadh. In this way, our hosts continue to be at the forefront of developing best practices.
On that note, the GSR's Best Practice Guidelines are surely its most vital output and also serve as a chronicle of our digital age and the central role GSR has played in supporting regulators through every phase.
The story of GSR began in the early 2000s when our focus was on building the market.
GSR was instrumental in the creation of the blueprint for liberalization, competition, and universal access the very foundations of our connected world.
In the mid-2000s, we shifted to building the networks. The guidelines tackled the complexities of Next-Generation Networks Open Access and infrastructure sharing to roll out the broadband highways that power our economies.
The mid-2010s constituted a third era as we addressed the rise of the digital ecosystem. The guidelines adapted to a world of cloud computing, mobile apps and OTT players championing digital financial inclusion and pioneering the concept of collaborative, cross-sectoral regulation.
Today, we stand at a new regulatory frontier. Our recent guidelines have addressed AI governance the new space economy and the urgent need for a sustainable digital transformation which is why that is our theme this week.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The experience of the past quarter century has led us to a profound realization.That, the regulator of today and tomorrow cannot simply be the referee of a known game that sustains itself.
Our regulators must be the architects of a world in transformation and actively intervene to ensure that it is sustainable.
That is why the GSR-25 guidelines are about empowering regulators to become digital ecosystem builders.
Ladies and gentlemen, what does that mean?
It means having the tools and frameworks to build a bridge to the future and building regulatory innovation for green digital ecosystem. That in turn means moving from a vertical, sector-specific view to a horizontal one that cuts across our entire economies.
It means fostering innovation not as a side project, but as a core practice. It means forging 'fit-for-future' frameworks that actively unleash innovation while safeguarding our societies. The ultimate goal is social and economic prosperity. Because our work is not just about technology. It is about people. It is about impact.
We are building resilient, inclusive and innovative digital ecosystems and in doing so, we are laying the groundwork for social and economic prosperity for all.
We are creating the enabling environment for quality education accessible healthcare, financial inclusion and new economic opportunities.
In a nutshell, we are ensuring that digital transformation delivers on its promise to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Over the next few days, we have a unique opportunity to write the next chapter of our collective story.
Let us engage with the spirit of collaboration that has defined GSR for 25 years and which has given us new tools like the G5 Accelerator, which I look forward to discussing in more detail tomorrow.
And let us turn vision into action. Our efforts to connect the world are grounded in sound economic evidence and lead to real, measurable prosperity for all.
Let us apply the same spirit to everything we do this week.
Let us challenge ourselves to be bold to be innovative and to be the leaders our digital future demands.
Thank you!
