Kingdom Participates in ITU Council Meetings

The Kingdom, represented by a delegation from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Communications and Information Technology Commission headed by His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, Governor of the Commission, is participating in the meetings of the ITU Council - the United Nations specialized agency for the telecommunications and information technology sector - currently being held in Geneva, during the period from 25 May 2016 to 4 June 2016. His Excellency the Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission delivered a speech at the Council's opening session, in which he noted that the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, may God protect him, pays special attention to the telecommunications and information technology sector and the information society, which has created a market in the Kingdom considered the largest in the Middle East region in terms of capital value and spending volume, estimated at more than SAR 120 billion during 2015. His Excellency noted that this attention and direction was confirmed in the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030, which included the Kingdom's commitment to developing and advancing digital infrastructure, particularly broadband, with the aim of achieving coverage exceeding 90% of households within cities, and 66% in other areas. Al-Ruwais said that Saudi Vision 2030, with respect to telecommunications and information technology, is consistent in many of its pillars with the ITU's plans and objectives.

On the sidelines of the Council meetings, His Excellency Dr. Al-Ruwais held a number of side meetings with His Excellency the Secretary-General of the Union, his deputy, the Director of the Radiocommunication Sector, and the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Sector, during which a number of topics related to the field of telecommunications and information technology were discussed.

The Commission stated that the ITU Council comprises 48 countries, including the Kingdom, out of the Union's 193 member states, and is discussing at its current meeting a number of topics, most notably the Connect 2020 Agenda, which sets out a set of global targets that the Union must achieve in the areas of growth, inclusiveness, sustainability and innovation, in addition to discussing the ITU's budget, and the progress made in implementing the Union's strategic plan and its three sectors, as well as topics related to cybersecurity.

It should be noted that the Kingdom has participated effectively in the work and various activities of the International Telecommunication Union since it became a member of the Union in 1949, and has previously chaired the ITU Council for two terms, and has also retained its membership on the Union's governing council since 1965, having been renominated in every election cycle since that date.