{"id":302,"date":"2026-04-10T09:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T09:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.itu.int\/itu-d\/meetings\/gsr-26\/?page_id=302"},"modified":"2026-04-10T13:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:00:06","slug":"meet-the-speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.itu.int\/itu-d\/meetings\/gsr-26\/programme\/meet-the-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
H.E. Mr Abdulkadir Uralo\u011flu<\/div>
Minister<\/div>
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
T\u00fcrkiye<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

H.E. Mr Abdulkadir Uralo\u011flu<\/p><\/div>

Born on 19 January 1966 in Trabzon. Abdulkadir Uralo\u011flu received his Bachelor degree from the Civil Engineering Department of Karadeniz Technical University in 1988.
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\r\nHe started his career in the private sector as a site engineer in 1988. In 1989, Uralo\u011flu passed the exam of the General Directorate of Highways, he began working as a Survey Team Engineer at the Highways Erzurum 12th Regional Directorate. Between 1990 and 1998, he held the positions of Survey Team Engineer, Control Engineer and Chief of Control at the General Directorate of Highways\u2019 Ankara 4th Regional Directorate, before being appointed Chief Construction Engineer at the Erzurum Regional Directorate in 1998.
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\r\nFollowing his career in Erzurum, Uralo\u011flu was appointed as Deputy Director of the 10th Regional Directorate in Trabzon in 2003. Under the Emergency Action Plan launched at that time, he played an active role in the implementation of divided carriageways, asphalt-surfaced roads and motorway projects.
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\r\nUralo\u011flu began his duties as Director of the 6th Region in Kayseri in 2005 and was appointed Director of the 7th Region in Samsun in 2006. During his tenure, Uralo\u011flu contributed to the completion of the Black Sea Coastal Road. He served in Samsun for 6.5 years. He oversaw the commencement of construction works on the Tokat and \u00dcnye Ring Roads, the Ordu Ring Road, the Amasya Ring Road and the Ordu-Top\u00e7am-Mesudiye Road, as well as the commissioning of the Samsun City Bypass and the Ordu-Ulubey Road.
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\r\nIn 2012, Uralo\u011flu was appointed to the Director of the General Directorate of Highways, \u0130zmir 2nd Regional Directorate. During his six years in office in \u0130zmir, he oversaw the completion of the Konak Tunnel and its access road, the Sabuncubeli Tunnel which reduced the journey time between \u0130zmir and Manisa by 15 minutes and the commencement of construction on the Denizli Ring Road and the Honaz Tunnels.
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\r\nAbdulkadir Uralo\u011flu was appointed to the post of Director General of the General Directorate of Highways by President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan on 23 July 2018. During his tenure as Director General, numerous key projects for T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s transport infrastructure have been completed, including the 1915 \u00c7anakkale Bridge and the Malkara-\u00c7anakkale Motorway, the Istanbul-Izmir Motorway, the Northern Marmara Motorway, the Menemen-Alia\u011fa-\u00c7andarl\u0131 Motorway, and the Ankara -Ni\u011fde Motorway, the Ahlat-Karahasan-Malazgirt Road and the Gelibolu-Eceabat Road, among many other key projects for T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s transport infrastructure, were brought into service.
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\r\nUralo\u011flu was appointed Minister of Transport and Infrastructure in the 67th Government by a presidential decree published on 3 June 2023.
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\r\nHe is married and has 3 children.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/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. Dr \u00d6mer Fatih Sayan<\/div>
Deputy Minister<\/div>
Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
T\u00fcrkiye<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

H.E. Dr \u00d6mer Fatih Sayan<\/p><\/div>

Born in \u0130stanbul in the year 1977, Dr. \u00d6mer Fatih Sayan received his Bachelor degree from the Electronics Engineering Department of Istanbul University Faculty of Engineering; Faculty of Law of Bah\u00e7e\u015fehir University and Diplomatic Studies of Oxford University \u2013 St Antony\u2019s School.
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\r\nHe completed his Master\u2019s Degree at Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Communications Engineering Department of Technical University of Munich and at Biomedical Engineering Department of \u0130stanbul University Institute of Science and Technology. He completed his PhD studies in the departments of Biomedical Engineering at Istanbul University, Private Law and Political Science & Public Administration at Ankara Y\u0131ld\u0131r\u0131m Beyaz\u0131t University.
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\r\nHe started his career in \u0130stanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 1995 and worked in private companies in T\u00fcrkiye, Germany and USA in the fields of chip manufacturing, cell phone design and R&D. He carried out studies in entrepreneurship by working under the initiative of Silicon Valley and he gave lectures on Information Law and New Trends in Informatics in many universities in T\u00fcrkiye and Germany.
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\r\nDr. Sayan has given many lectures in conferences about research subjects and he has many articles published in scientific journals.
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\r\nIn addition to his academic work, he founded the Istanbul T\u00fcrkiye Local Committee of the Electrical Engineering Students’ European Association (EESTEC). He is an IEEE member and a member of the EMO Ankara Branch. He served as president of the Turkish-German Friendship Delegation in Osnabr\u00fcck, Germany, and the T\u00fcrkische Gesprachskreis. He served as vice president and a member of the Audit Board of the Mimar Sinan Association. He served as the head of the Turkish delegation to the World Information Society Summit (WSIS). He also served as vice chair of the Independent Regulators Group (IRG). He was the coordinator of the Artificial Intelligence T\u00fcrkiye Conference.
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\r\nHaving worked as advisor to the Prime Minister and chief advisor to the Prime Minister between the years of 2007 and 2014, he was appointed as the Member of the Board of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) in January 2014. He worked as the Chairman of the Board & President of BTK between August 2015 and July 2018.
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\r\nDr. Sayan has been the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure since 21 July 2018. He has been re-appointed for a second term on 22 June 2023
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\r\nHe speaks English, German and French. He is married and has 3 children.
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<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
Mr \u00d6mer Abdullah Karag\u00f6zo\u011flu<\/div>
President and GSR Chair 2026<\/div>
Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK)
T\u00fcrkiye<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/center><\/div><\/a>
X<\/a>

Mr \u00d6mer Abdullah Karag\u00f6zo\u011flu<\/p><\/div>

Mr. \u00d6mer Abdullah Karag\u00f6zo\u011flu has been the Chairman of the Board and President of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) of the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye since August 2018. He was re-appointed for a second term in August 2022 after completing his first 4-year term in this position.
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\r\nHe was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1975. He is an Electrical and Electronic Engineer graduated from Eastern Mediterranean University.
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\r\nMr. Karag\u00f6zo\u011flu worked as a software engineer at Istanbul Water and Sewerage Administration (ISKI) of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) from 2002 to 2004. Between 2004 and 2016, he held various managerial positions at BELBIM, a technology company of IMM.
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\r\nHe served as the Adviser to the Chairman and Board Member of BTK before his appointment.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/center><\/div><\/center><\/div>
Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava<\/div>
BDT Director<\/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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\r\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/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>