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\n \"Background\n
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Global Symposium for Regulators 2025<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
H.E. Eng. Abdullah Amer Alswaha<\/div>
Minister<\/div>
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div>
<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin<\/div>
Secretary-General<\/div>
International Telecommunication Union<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin<\/p><\/div>

Doreen Bogdan-Martin took office as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.
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\r\nMs Bogdan-Martin has held leadership positions in the field of international telecommunications policy for over two decades, with a track-record of brokering innovative partnerships to expand digital inclusion and connectivity for everyone around the world. Following her historic election by ITU Member States in September 2022, she became the first woman ever to head the organization, which was first established in 1865 and became a UN specialized agency in 1947.
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\r\nAs ITU Secretary-General, she aims to drive innovative solutions, maximize ITU’s relevance for its 193 Member States, intensify global cooperation on connecting the unconnected, and strengthen the alignment of ITU’s programmes with the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations. Ms Bogdan-Martin has consistently emphasized the need for digital transformation to achieve economic prosperity, job creation, skills development, gender equality, and socio-economic inclusion, as well as to build circular economies, reduce climate impact, and save lives.
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\r\nAs Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau for a four-year term starting in 2018, she helped put sustainable digital development at the forefront of international cooperation, including with the private sector and civil society. Among other ITU development priorities, she actively promoted the Partner2Connect initiative, which has mobilized unprecedented pledges of funding and support for meaningful Internet connectivity in developing countries.
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\r\nShe was previously instrumental in establishing the ITU-UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, serving as its Executive Director for more than a decade; contributed to the success of ITU’s Global Symposium for Regulators as the pre-eminent worldwide meeting for digital policy makers; and led ITU’s youth engagement strategy. She also pioneered ITU’s ongoing contribution to the EQUALS Global Partnership for Gender Equality in the Digital Age and initiated ITU’s collaboration with UNICEF on the Giga project to connect every school worldwide to the Internet.
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\r\nWithin ITU, she has promoted gender equality and encouraged bringing more women into the workforce, as well as helping women grow professionally and contributing to networks of women pursuing gender-balanced participation in conferences and policy making.
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\r\nFrom 2008 until 2018, Ms Bogdan-Martin served as Chief of ITU’s Strategic Planning and Membership Department, overseeing corporate communications, external affairs, corporate strategy, and membership. Earlier, she headed the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau’s Regulatory and Market Environment Division and Regulatory Reform Unit.
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\r\nBefore joining ITU in 1994, she worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce as a Telecommunication Policy Specialist in the National Telecommunication and Information Administration.
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\r\nMs Bogdan-Martin holds a Master’s in International Communications Policy from American University in Washington, DC, a post-graduate certification in Strategies for Leadership from the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a certification in Accountability and Ethics from the UN Leaders Programme. She is also a qualified amateur radio operator.
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\r\nMs Bogdan-Martin is married with four children.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
H.E. Eng. Haitham Alohaly<\/div>
Governor and GSR-25 Chair<\/div>
Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST)
Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

H.E. Eng. Haitham Alohaly<\/p><\/div>

His Excellency, Haitham Alohaly, was appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MCIT) in 2018. Prior to his appointment, the Vice Minister held a number of senior management positions with Cisco Saudi Arabia, \ufb01nishing his time with the organisation as Managing Director.
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\r\nWhile Managing Director for Cisco Saudi Arabia, His Excellency managed both public and private sector partnerships, playing an active role in client digital transformation journeys. In this role, His Excellency assisted clients from across the Government, Healthcare, Education, and National Security & Defense sectors. His Excellency was also a long-time member of Cisco Saudi Arabia\u2019s CSR board.
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\r\nPrior to joining Cisco in 2006, His Excellency was Deputy GM for the ECDL foundation in Saudi (2003-2006), where he focused on the education sector and helped establish an IT literacy program.
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\r\nHis Excellency holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in Electric Engineering from Seattle University.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava<\/div>
Director BDT<\/div>
International Telecommunication Union<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava<\/p><\/div>

Co<\/strong>smas Zavazava took office as Director of the\u200b\u00a0<\/strong>Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT)\u00a0<\/strong>at the International Te\u200blecommunication Union (ITU) on 1 January 2023.
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\r\nWith more than 30 years in telecommunications, including over 20 years in ITU’s Development Sector, Dr Zavazava has promoted and implemented impactful information and communication technology projects around the world.
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\r\nPrior to his election as BDT Director, he served as ITU’s Chief of Partnerships for Digital Development , overseeing development-related projects, strategic partnerships, and resource mobilization between 2019 and 2022, while launching new initiatives that have boosted the engagement of industry, private-sector and academia members in ITU’s work.
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\r\nPreviously, as ITU’s Chief of Projects and Initiatives, he oversaw development projects focused on gender, youth, and people with special needs, along with capacity building, emergency telecommunications, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and e-waste management.
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\r\nEarlier, Dr Zavazava headed the Republic of Zimbabwe’s Government Telecommunications Agency and served as a senio\u200br diplomat. He also taught MBA classes at the UK’s Nottingham Trent University.
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\r\nThroughout his career, he has focused on closing the digital and skills divide and accelerating digital transformation to achieve socio-economic development for all.
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\r\nDr Zavazava holds a PhD in Multilateral Trade from Business School Lausanne (Switzerland), and a Master of Laws degree in Telecommunications and Information Technology from the University of Strathclyde (UK), as well as a Master’s in International Relations from Webster University (US), and an MBA from the University of Zimbabwe. He also holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and diplomas in Telecommunications and Systems Engineering.
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<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
Mr Bocar Ba<\/div>
IAGDI-CRO Chair<\/div>
CEO SAMENA Telecommunications Council
United Arab Emirates<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

Mr Bocar Ba<\/p><\/div>


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  • CEO SAMENA Telecommunications Council \u2013 UAE<\/li>
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  • Member Review Board, 5th Generation Collaborative Regulation (G5) Benchmark \u2013 ITU<\/li>
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  • Commissioner Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development – UN<\/li>
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  • Member Edison Alliance, World Economic Forum (WEF)<\/li>
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  • Member 2020 G20 Summit Advisory Board – (Former) Digital Economy Task Force \u2013 KSA<\/li>
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  • Chairman Industry Advisory Group for Development Issues & Chief Regulatory Officers Meeting (IAGDI\/CRO) \u2013 ITU<\/li>
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    \r\nFor over 30 years, Bocar BA has been delivering impact in the Telecom\/ICT industry of the MEA region, facilitating collaboration among private-sector and government sector entities in the pursuit of digitization and socio-economic conducive policies. BA\u2019s professional engagement is recognized in industry-wide advocacy activities, especially\u202ftoward promoting investment sustainability in the private sector of the Middle East.
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    \r\nHis innate people-centric approach has mobilized multiple consensus-building platforms, cross-regional stakeholders, and issue-specific advocacy on important sector-development challenges. He is collaborating with leading platforms and global telecommunications development institutions, including the ITU, UN Broadband Commission, the World Bank (WB), and World Economic Forum (WEF), among others, as an objective-minded representative of the private sector and as an advocate of effective policy-making and future-friendly regulation, which are crucial for fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that all nations across the globe have agreed to in the larger interest of their socio-economic development needs.
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    \r\nBA is a principal advisor to various business, investment, and regulatory entities and assists governments in addressing matters relating to digital infrastructure investment, innovation catalysts, sustainable digital economy, job-creation, and citizen-centric public-sector delivery through the use of ICTs. Bocar BA has chaired consensus-building and contributed to the development of recommendations for leaders worldwide to help accelerate digital infrastructure development and digitalization.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/div>