By International Consensus: Kingdom Wins UN Seats on the ITU Council and the Radio Regulations Board

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia won, today Monday, in the member states elections for the ITU Council, held during the plenary session of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, currently held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where a vote was held to elect 48 countries out of the Union's 193 member states to be among the membership of the ITU Council for the next four years, thereby enabling the Kingdom to retain its membership - by international consensus - on the Council, which it has held continuously since 1965.

On this occasion, His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, Eng. Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, offered his congratulations to the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on this win.

Alswaha said that the support and attention of the wise leadership - may God protect it - enabled the sector to lead the list of the largest telecommunications, information technology and e-commerce markets in the Middle East and North Africa; which significantly contributed to the international community's confidence in the Saudi telecommunications and information technology sector.

His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology affirmed the Kingdom's full commitment, together with its partners at the United Nations and the international community, to encouraging the participation of developing countries in the Union's work and contributing to supporting their digital transformation efforts.

In turn, His Excellency the Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Salem Al-Ruwais, offered his congratulations to the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, noting that the great support and wise guidance the sector has received in the Kingdom from our wise government contributed to achieving this accomplishment.

Al-Ruwais added that the member states' vote in favor of the Kingdom reflects the international community's belief and confidence in the significant role the Kingdom plays in the Union, affirming that the Kingdom, through its position on the Council, will continue its approach of contributing to supporting and empowering the international community, particularly developing countries, by providing supportive contributions to the work of the Union's three sectors: development, standardization and radiocommunication.

In a related context, the Kingdom, represented by His Excellency Eng. Tariq bin Mohammed Al-Omari, won - by international consensus - during the conference, membership of the Radio Regulations Board, which consists of (12) elected members chosen from among (193) countries, a specialized committee concerned with examining cases of frequency interference between countries, and considering appeal requests submitted by countries regarding decisions taken by the Radiocommunication Bureau.

It should be noted that the international community endorsed all the files led by the Kingdom during the conference, foremost among them formulating the Union's strategic and financial plan, discussing international public policy issues related to the Internet and the Union's role in them, enhancing the Union's role in building trust and cybersecurity, adopting artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, and considering holding the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum to address public issues related to regulating the sector at the international level.