The Kingdom Chairs the Eighth Meeting of the ITU Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Communications and Information Technology Commission, chaired the eighth meeting of the ITU Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues, which concluded last Friday at the ITU headquarters in Geneva, in the presence of the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, his deputy, and a number of the directors of the Union's three sectors.

His Excellency Engineer Majed bin Mohammed Al-Muzaid, Assistant Deputy Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission for Technical Affairs, Acting Secretary of the National Information Society Committee, and Chair of the Working Group, said that the Kingdom's continued chairmanship of this global group for the eighth consecutive year reflects the Kingdom's standing within the International Telecommunication Union, and its role in areas related to internet development and related policies, both at the regional and international levels. Al-Muzaid added that the meeting discussed topics related to strengthening security and trust, in addition to discussing issues of privacy and the protection of information and personal data on the internet, and considering the enactment of international regulatory frameworks that safeguard users' rights.

49 entities around the world participated in the survey, including 23 countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Poland, Japan, Russia, Qatar, Morocco, and a number of other countries, which contributed their input on the issues included in the survey document.

On the sidelines of the meeting, an open consultation session was held for all entities that play a role in the development and management of the internet, during which views were exchanged on a survey previously prepared on the role of governments in building an enabling environment for the internet.

It is worth noting that the ITU Council Working Group on International Internet-related Public Policy Issues is the most important working group of the ITU Council, which has seen distinguished participation from many countries given the global interest the group enjoys.