The visit of the ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Houlin Zhao to the Russian Federation was organized at the invitation of H.E.Mr. Nikolai Nikiforov, Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation. The objective of the mission was to participate in the 1st Meeting of the BRICS ICT Ministers, which took place in Moscow from 22 to 23 October 2015. BRICS members are: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Communications was organized by the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation within the framework of Ufa Declaration adopted by 7th BRICS Summit (Ufa, Russian Federation, 2014).
Mr. Houlin Zhao attended IT-Forum within the framework of the Meeting of the BRICS ICT Ministers. At the IT-Forum, Mr. Houlin Zhao delivered a welcome address. In his address, Mr. Zhao appreciated the kind invitation to participate in the first meeting of the BRICS ICT Ministers, the good coordination among BRICS members on ICT developments and highlighted the achievements of the ICT and Telecom in BRICS, as well the challenges for BRICS and for the global industry highlighted the ITU's Main mission to connect those not connected yet, briefed on WRC-15, WTIS, SG's informal consultation on cybersecurity in 2016, new focus on SMEs.
Also, Mr. Houlin Zhao visited the ITU Area Office for CIS. In the ITU Area Office, Mr. Houlin Zhao participated in 25th CEB ICT Network Meeting, using videoconference network established in the Office, which connects the Area Office with Communication Administrations of CIS region. During the videoconference, Mr. Houlin Zhao spoke on Agenda Item 4: Status and current direction of ICT initiatives.
