Agenda

H.E. Dr. Chea Vandeth currently serves as the Minister of Post and Telecommunications of Cambodia and Chair of the Digital Government Committee. Since assuming office, he has led Cambodia’s digital transformation agenda through major policy reforms, institutional modernization, and the advancement of digital government and telecommunications development.

Under his leadership, the Ministry has introduced and implemented key policies and regulatory frameworks, including the Digital Government Policy, the draft Law on Cybersecurity, the draft Postal Law, and the Digital Startup Sub-Decree. As Chair of the Digital Government Committee, Minister Vandeth has overseen the rollout of flagship digital government platforms and public digital infrastructure, including Verify.gov.kh and the DG SuperApp, aimed at improving the efficiency, accessibility, and transparency of public services through secure and interoperable digital systems.

Minister Vandeth has also played a leading role in shaping Cambodia’s digital infrastructure future by spearheading the country’s 5G roadmap and strengthening collaboration with telecommunications operators to improve service quality, expand nationwide network coverage, and support innovation and emerging technologies. His efforts have contributed significantly to Cambodia’s digital connectivity and readiness for the digital economy. 

A strong advocate for human capital development, Minister Vandeth has championed the Digital Skills Development Roadmap and nationwide initiatives to promote digital literacy and workforce readiness. He has supported scholarship and financial assistance programs and spearheaded the establishment of Community Tech Centers at high schools across Cambodia to broaden access to digital education and technological resources for youth and local communities.

Prior to his current role, H.E. Dr. Vandeth accumulated more than 25 years of public sector experience in senior governmental and legislative positions. His previous roles include Chief Advisor to H.E. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia, and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Rural Development, Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources. He also served in various leadership positions at the Office of the Council of Ministers, including Chief of Cabinet of the Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers.

H.E. Dr. Chea Vandeth earned his PhD in Economics from Russia in 1997 and holds an Executive Master 
of Business Administration from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. 

Mark-Alexandre Doumba est Ministre de l’Économie Numérique, de la Digitalisation et de l’Innovation de la République Gabonaise depuis mai 2025, après avoir occupé le poste de Ministre de l’Économie et des Participations.

Spécialiste de la transformation numérique, de la finance du développement et de l’investissement, il a mené des initiatives en Afrique, en Asie et au Moyen-Orient.

 Il est diplômé de la George Washington University, de la London School of Economics et de la Harvard Kennedy School. Il a été reconnu en 2025 comme Young Global Leader par le Forum Économique Mondial.

MohammadMohsen Sadr is the Deputy ICT Minister and Head of the Information Technology Organization of Iran (ITO). He received his BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Computer Engineering in 2004, 2010, and 2020 respectively.  He has been a faculty member at Payam Noor University since 2012, and served as a Member of the University Board of Directors from 2013 to 2018 Additionally, he contributed to the university's administrative functions such as the Director of Public Relations and Deputy Director of the Information Technology and Statistics Office. Beyond academia, Dr. Sadr has held significant roles in the private sector, serving on boards and in management positions in various financial and ICT companies. He was Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Rightel Informative Company from 2018 to 2021. Since 2024 Dr. Sadr has served as Deputy Minister of ICT and Head of the Information Technology Organization of Iran (ITO), the body responsible for developing information technology within the country in general and accelerating government digital ecosystem of Iran in particular.

Born on December 11, 1982 in Moscow.

In 2004 he graduated from the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, majoring in “Applied Mathematics and Computer Science”.

In 2007, he completed his postgraduate studies at the Department of Mathematical Physics, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, and in 2008 he was awarded the academic degree “Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences”.

From 2008 to 2022, he held various positions in the international network of PricewaterhouseCoopers firms, progressing from an IT systems auditor to director of the artificial intelligence and data analytics practice.

On October 31, 2022, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation appointed to the position of Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation.

Speaks English.

 H.E. Mr. Sherzod Shermatov is currently serving as the Minister of Digital Technologies at the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Before assuming this prestigious position, Mr. Sherzod Shermatov held the role of Minister of Public Education in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Additionally, he has an extensive background in the field of innovation and development, having previously worked as the Deputy Minister of Innovative Development.

His educational achievements further highlight his expertise in the field. He successfully completed his studies at the renowned Yale University. Moreover, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Tashkent State Technical University, further solidifying his understanding and proficiency in this domain.

Javier Gutiérrez Afanador
Communications Commissioner 
Communications Regulatory Commission (CRC), Colombia

Education
Lawyer from Universidad Externado de Colombia, with a Specialization in Contract Law and Negotiable Legal Relations from the same university. He also holds an Executive MBA (Cum Laude) from Prime Business School at Universidad Sergio Arboleda.

Professional Experience
Mr. Gutiérrez Afanador has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, holding legal, administrative, and senior management roles. In the public sector, he has worked with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies of Colombia, the Ministry of Transport of Colombia – Instituto Nacional de Vías (INVIAS), the Federación Nacional de Departamentos, and the Agencia de Desarrollo Rural.

In the private sector, he served as General Secretary of ETB and as legal advisor to Telefónica Data, Rhayuela Films, and the Embassy of France in Colombia. He has also been a member of the boards of CINTEL, Colvatel S.A., and Skynet de Colombia S.A.

Regarding promotion, the CRC will be pleased to support the dissemination of the session and the Commissioner’s participation through our communication channels. Once you share the suggested LinkedIn post, we will be happy to review it and coordinate the corresponding promotion.

Mustafa Yasin Sheikh is the Director General of the National Communications Authority of Somalia (NCA) since 19th November 2022. Prior to this nomination, he worked as the Deputy Director General of the National Communications Authority of Somalia (NCA) and a Member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Mustafa served as the Executive Director of the Somalia Network Information Centre (SONIC) – the Somalia DotSO (.so) ccTLD registry operator – between 2018 – 2021. Mustafa also worked as a senior policy advisor at the Ministry of Communications and Technology between 2017 and 2018. With over 15 years of experience in both private and public service management and leadership, Mustafa specialized in Internet governance, regulatory and policy analysis, Public-Private Partnership, and competition economics. During his years of work, he participated in several specialized workshops, meetings, forums, and associations worldwide.

Professor Salma Abbasi is the Founder, Chairperson and CEO of the eWorldwide Group. An international social enterprise, actively engaged with governments, development agencies, private sector and academia driving meaningful, inclusive digital transformation leveraging innovative technologies and ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) for sustainable future for humanity.  

She is collaborating with global stakeholders to co-create ethical standards, regulations and guardrails for prevailing technologies, data privacy, trust, cybersecurity and resilience. She has published several papers highlighting the importance to understand the unknown risks and unethical challenges from Artificial Intelligence Systems (AIS) and is actively working with international think tanks to develop a series of global standards, regulations, ethical AI frameworks, and guidelines for governance, transparency, accountability, explainability, and algorithmic biased, and policy papers, particularly improving safeguarding practices for children.  

Leveraging her global experience as the former Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer for Lucent Technologies, with over 40 years' experience in the fields of technology, innovation, supply chain management and people-centric design, she is an advisory board member for several international organizations advocating for operational excellence, sustainability and technology for humanity.  

Professor Abbasi was commissioned by UNECA in 2019 to develop the strategic roadmap and partnership framework to establish the 1st African AI Research Centre of Excellence. Subsequently developing a series of multi-level AI courses for stakeholders. In parallel, she is a visiting lecturer at 5 universities around the world and participates in high-level dialogues internationally to raise the importance for deeper and broader understanding of the evolving risks from AI, particularly the unknown consequences from rapid adoption without having the necessary policies, frameworks, safety guardrails and regulations, and skills in place. She advocates for greater international collaboration, cooperation, and partnerships with ‘equity and trust’.