Collaboration, cooperation, and community: Q&A with ITU Council Chair

By ITU News

Saif Bin Ghelaita, Executive Director of Technology Development Affairs at the UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, chaired the latest session of the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

What are they key outcomes of ITU Council 2022?

First of all, I would like to thank ITU for bringing us back to Geneva – the home for the Council and like a second home for many of us. It’s always good to be back home!

We had more than 650 participants, out of which 515 were present in the Popov Room, with 139 participating remotely. We had 47 Member States attending this Council session, which is impressive.

In terms of gender representation, we had 36 per cent of women attendees participating physically, and 47 per cent remotely.

Give us some insight into this year’s agenda.

With this session of Council preceding the Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 [PP-22 – taking place in Bucharest, Romania, between 26 September and 14 October 2022], we had many issues on the agenda. Some related to strategy and policy planning. The proposed operational plan for 2024-2027 was considered.

We also have the Council Working Groups and the four-year reports of their achievements, many of which were endorsed. Some of these Council Working Groups were recommended to continue for a second period [pending final decision] at the PP level. Others were thanked for their contribution, and the decision for the way forward will be left to the PP.

Are you pleased with any outcome in particular?

My role was to facilitate the discussion.

The Member States’ contributions and discussions drove the outcomes.

We have the guidelines for [the] Global Cybersecurity Agenda, and we’ve discussed the financial operational plan for 2024-2027.

We also have some enhancements to ITU processes and procedures that will help ITU cope with changes and demands, and hopefully keep ITU as a leader in this space. The financial operational plan was approved, the accessibility framework was endorsed, staff regulation matters were discussed. These are just a few items that were discussed and approved, so it was a good achievement.

ITU Council 2022 adopted a resolution deploring the widespread destruction of critical telecommunications infrastructure that has occurred across Ukraine. Tell us about the mandate that the resolution gives ITU.

Taking into consideration the principles that ITU works on – cooperation, collaboration, humanity, and interdependence of all – there was a contribution that garnered overwhelming support.

That support is for assistance to Ukraine in rebuilding its telecommunication services.

That resolution was adopted, and it mandates ITU to help Ukraine rebuild critical telecommunication infrastructure, to help them communicate well and to have a reliable communication network.

Now that ITU Council 2022 has ended, do you think the Union is prepared for the Plenipotentiary Conference?

I believe so. I’ve seen a regional coordination meeting happen here where all the regional groups participated. They were sharing their progress, and it seems that all the regions are well-prepared.

Also, the chair designated for PP-22 [Sabin Sărmaș of Romania] was present in our meetings. He’s ready, confident, and enthusiastic.

I think we’ll have a very fruitful discussion during PP with his leadership. I believe ITU, with the increased level of regional participation and the coordination meetings happening prior to PP, will help make it a successful event.

What do you think will be the major opportunities and challenges for ITU in the next few years?

The challenges will keep coming – what happened a couple years back was unpredictable. It’s always good to convert the challenge into an opportunity and then work on it. In the telecommunications sector, ITU is responsible for a very important aspect of our daily life.

With the ever-increasing changes and challenges, Member States will always look to the Union to help them sail through these challenges so that no one is left behind.

The race is on – everybody’s building their networks and their services.

The Union’s work and the principles of not leaving anyone behind will help everybody to be on an equal footing, to utilize these networks for the benefit of humanity.

As Council Chair, you’ve tackled some difficult subjects and led difficult conversations. Any final words to share?

The achievements would not be possible without the work of the ITU Secretariat, and the work of the Member States themselves and their contributions.

The spirit of being back again, seeing each other – that atmosphere itself helped us a lot. It was much more difficult during the virtual consultations of councillors [over the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic]. Now it’s much easier when we see each other, converse with each other, have coffee breaks and talk to one another.

I hope we can continue this in the future, so that we can build on the principles that were attained.

Everybody is here to collaborate for the benefit of everybody.

Check out the ITU Council 2022 snapshot report.