Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission Presents at the Sixth World Telecommunication Development Conference the Most Notable Achievements in Developing the Communications and Information Technology Sector and the Impact of Significant Government Support in Deploying Services Across the Kingdom's Regions

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by a high-level delegation from the Communications and Information Technology Commission headed by His Excellency the Governor of the Commission Engineer Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Darrab, is participating in the Sixth World Telecommunication Development Conference, organized this year by the International Telecommunication Union under the theme "Broadband for Sustainable Development," and held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from March 30 to April 10, 2014.

The conference this year aims to establish work programs and guiding principles to define telecommunications development issues and priorities and to provide direction and guidance regarding the work program of the Union's Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) over the next four years.

His Excellency the Governor of the Commission delivered the Kingdom's address today, Monday, March 31, 2014, in which he expressed the attention the communications and information technology sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has received since an early stage, when the Kingdom adopted the privatization program aimed at raising the efficiency of the national economy and increasing its competitiveness through liberalizing service markets and opening the door to competition, in order to provide advanced communications and information technology services comprehensively across the Kingdom, with high quality and at reasonable prices.

Engineer Al-Darrab explained in his address the role played by significant government support in leading the Kingdom's developmental experience in the communications and information technology sector, noting in this context the success achieved thanks to government funding in reducing developmental gaps between the Kingdom's regions, represented in providing voice communications services and broadband internet services to all remote areas through implementing Universal Service projects with the aim of achieving communications services coverage for all centers, villages, and hamlets in the Kingdom.

It is worth noting that the Kingdom has been a member of the International Telecommunication Union since 1949, which is the United Nations' specialized agency for communications and information technology, and the Kingdom has maintained its membership on the Council of the International Telecommunication Union since 1965, alongside 48 other countries.