– 138 – (5.4 – ITU-D) reaffirming a) the importance of regional presence for achieving the purposes of the International Telecommu-nication Union; b) that the regional presence is a structural option for pursuing the purposes of the Union in the field in order to meet the needs of the membership; c) that if it is to play a pre-eminent role in the development of telecommunication networks and services worldwide, ITU must meet the needs of its membership, emphasizing that the regional presence, as an integral part of the Union’s overall activities, should reflect a “project management” approach based on operational processes that are coordinated between headquarters and the regional offices, noting with satisfaction that steps have been taken to implement Resolution 25 (Minneapolis, 1998) as indicated in Document C99/14, noting further that it is important for the regional offices to draw up their draft operational plans within the framework of the BDT operational plan, the guidelines as laid down in the strategic plan and the specific conditions of each region, aware a) that Resolution 74 (Minneapolis, 1998) calls for the review and improvement of the management, functioning and structure of ITU and that this review will encompass the regional presence; b) that it is important to address the immediate needs of Member States and Sector Members, resolves 1 that the role of the regional presence is to help fulfil the purposes of the Union in order to meet the needs of its membership through work in the field with telecommunication administrations and regulatory bodies, in particular those in the developing countries, including through collaboration with national, subregional and regional institutions, organizations and other entities; 2 that the regional presence, as an integral part of ITU, should support implementation of the decisions, recommendations, actions, programmes and projects approved by the Union through direct and ongoing collaboration with competent national authorities and regional and subregional organizations; 3 that the regional presence shall serve, as necessary, to represent the Secretary-General or the Bureau Director of one of the three Sectors; 4 that the functions of the regional presence stemming from ITU’s dual role as a United Nations specialized agency and executing agency must be clarified, and that the activities described in Resolution 71 (Minneapolis, 1998) must be made clear and implemented e.g. by assigning to the regional presence the generic activities listed in Annex A to this Resolution; 5 that the regional presence, acting within the framework of the relevant international organizations, should serve as an advocate for the ITU’s perspectives on telecommunication development; 6 that the involvement and participation of the developing countries and Sector Members in the regional presence and in all the activities of the Union, including the activities of ITU-R and ITU-T, should be enhanced,