Excellencies,
Mr. Secretary General,
Mr. Chairman,
Directors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen 

First, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Government of the Czech Republic, I would like to thank the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the representatives of the International Telecommunication Union for preparing this Conference.

The outputs of the Plenipotentiary Conference will undoubtedly constitute a major step for all the Membership of the ITU in fulfilling the five proposed ITU´s goals: Growth, Inclusiveness, Sustainability, Innovation and Partnership. 

The Czech Republic is prepared to contribute to all the goals mentioned as they are the prerequisite for creating the Digital Society worldwide. At the moment, our national goal is to change the ecosystem to create all the conditions for swift transition to the Digital Economy and Digital Society. As digitalisation is a horizontal goal, not only my Ministry but all the Government and also non-governmental levels are involved in the process. 

Initiatives within the remits of ITU support a similar goal and the Czech Republic stands ready to safeguard ITU’s efficiency, transparency and result-oriented approach while preferring pragmatic solutions without political prejudices. Further, the Czech Republic fully appreciates the value of regional and global cooperation towards connectivity and the peaceful use of technical achievements in the telecommunication/ICT sector, for the well-being of all, closing the technological gap and for the global achievement of Sustainable Development Goals through the 2030 Agenda. 

As a Member State that has actually been working within ITU´s structures from the very beginning and is seeking to be elected to the Council at this Conference, the Czech Republic comes with a practical initiative. In response to the Decision of the Council No. 588 my country is contributing through sponsorship to the construction of the new building at ITU headquarters. We are sure this is not the last opportunity to dedicate of some finances to this kind of sponsoring, so we would like to call on other ITU Members to follow us.

Let me wish this Plenipotentiary Conference fruitful discussions and the full success!

Thank you for your attention.