H.E. Ban Ki-Moon UN Secretary-General It is a pleasure to convey my greetings to all the par-ticipants in this conference. For 145 years the International Telecommunication Union has played a central role in the development of the global communications system – and for the past 60 years, the ITU has been an invaluable mem-ber of the United Nations family. From the birth of telegraph to radio, television, satellite communication and the Internet, the ITU has been at the forefront of “Connecting the World”. Today there are five billion mobile cellular subscrip-tions worldwide, and almost two billion people on-line. The work of the ITU, its Member States, and its Sector Members continues to show how powerful a partnership for development can be when it is based on transparency, openness and cooperation. But de-spite important headway in expanding the benefits of information and communication technology, there is much work ahead. As was emphasized at last month’s Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York, while the digital divide has narrowed, it has far from disappeared. One focus as we move ahead must be to harness the power of broadband. Experience has shown that great-er access to broadband technologies has meant faster progress towards all the MDGs. The Internet drives trade, commerce and even education. Telemedicine is improving health care. Earth-monitoring satellites are being used to address climate change issues. And green technologies are promoting cleaner cities. Last month the Broadband Commission for Digital Development -- a distinguished group of government officials, busi-nesspeople (Statement delivered by Mr. Houlin Zhao, ITU Deputy Secretary-General, on behalf of H.E. Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General) and content developers, brought together 4