ۥ-1@ -n'*.XXXX d n Xx@(486 ITU/95-3 23 February 1995 Original: English INTERIM BOARD NAMED FOR WORLDTEL (NEW YORK, February 23, 1995) The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today announced the interim Board of Directors of WorldTel, a recently created organization dedicated to narrowing the global communications gap through business ventures in developing countries. WorldTel was officially launched in January by the ITU, a United Nations specialized agency for telecommunications. The WorldTel mission is to develop and support, privately-funded telecommunications projects in developing nations. Client nations would obtain badly needed credit on reasonable commercial conditions so as to establish access to basic telecommunications at a time when nearly four out of every five people in the world lack primary services. Operators would benefit from increased traffic. The industry would gain more market opportunities. Industrialized nations would benefit from improved and increased global communications. Private investors would also benefit from large, newly created markets and diversified portfolios. "These joint ventures will permit the private sector to have full control of its investment, allow clear accountability of management, and timely responsiveness to market conditions," said Pekka Johannes Tarjanne, Secretary-General of the ITU and a member of the Interim board of WorldTel. "it is a win-win situation for investors, developing countries, industrialized nations, operators and the telecommunications industry." The other members of the Board are: Abdul Rahman Khalid Al-Ghunaim, Chairman of the Bank of Lebanon and Kuwait; Andres Bande, President of Ameritech International; Sam Pitroda, adviser to the Prime Minister of India, and Melvin Ward, Chairman of Logica Pty Ltd. of Australia. An additional board member will be nominated from the investment banking sector. The interim Board of Directors' first meeting is scheduled for March. Through its efforts, WorldTel hopes to break the vicious cycle that exists in developing Countries whereby economic growth is needed to generate funds to improve telecommunications capacity and capability, but the poor availability and quality of telecommunications deters investors from providing the required capital. WorldTel can deliver value in ways that powerfully differentiate it from existing institutions. It will focus exclusively on the telecommunications and information technology sector to provide specific expertise to client countries. These countries will be selected and served by a regionally decentralized organization, so WorldTel can deliver tailored solutions that provide unique capabilities. It will make equity investments and can undertake a direct operating role if required. No existing entity combines these attributes. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Abdul Rahman Khalid Al-Ghunaim is chairman of the Bank of Lebanon and Kuwait and President of Al-Baidas Trading & Contracting Co. He is a founding member of the World Telecom Advisory Council of the International Telecommunications Union and has authored several articles on subjects related to development of telecommunications worldwide. Andres Bande, an expert in international telecommunications, is President of Ameritech lnternational, the business unit of Ameritech which develops and operates global investments in network privatization, wireless technology and directory publishing. Mr. Bande serves on the Telecommunication Development Advisory Board of the International Telecommunications Union. Sam Pitroda, a leading authority on telecom and information technology, has served as advisor to the Prime Minister of India since 1987. The founder of several companies in the United States, Mr. Pitroda holds more than 50 worldwide patents. He is a founding member of the World Telecom Advisory Council of the International Telecommunications Union. Melvin Ward, an accomplished telecommunications engineer, currently serves as Chairman of Logica Pty Ltd., of Australia, and Director of JNA Telecommunications Ltd. He was formerly Managing Director of Telecom Australia and Chairman of Telecom Australia (International) Ltd. He is also a founding member of the World Telecommunications Advisory Council. Pekka Johannes Tarjanne was elected in 1989 and re-elected in January, 1995 as Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union. He has devoted himself to the implementation of several reforms in order for the ITU to more effectively deal with telecommunication expansion around the world. He previously served as Minister of Transport and Communications and as Minister responsible for Nordic cooperation and subsequently Director-General of Posts and Telecommunications of Finland. Contact: Mr Terrefe Ras-Work +41 22 730 5401 / 5427 (phone) +41 22 730 6448 (fax) Page page 2 of numpages 1 'uv77.Ast INI  lPIFEDIT EXE  PROGMAN HLP  xPWRCON PIF !REGEDITVHLP s=RESVB ICO ]4ITU/95-3 23 February 1995 Original: English INTERIM BOARD NAMED FOR WORLDTEL (NEW YORK, February 23, 1995) The Internation uz{  z( i }  e)uƾ~yy:!:!:!.:!.:!.v:!.v:!9:!9 :!:!:!:!:! :!:!:!:!:!:!NNormal_after_headingsRel#Rel Date Orig LangTitleindent1p      ! B .o#o#h      he 7x   xx 7BB7S%+  @Times New Roman Symbol&ArialTimes5Courier New +! bh:E;E 6ITU/95-3Maurice Francine MAURICE FR.