UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) took part in the World Telecommunication Developement Conference 2014 (WTDC 2014) Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Arab Region held in Bahrain recently.

It also participated in the Regional Development Forum (RDF) for the Arab Region which preceded the preparatory meeting, both hosted by the Government of Bahrain, said a statement.

The UAE delegation was headed by Nasser bin Hammad, director of International Affairs at the TRA and included Rayyan AlHashmi, vice president of Regulatory Operations from Etisalat and representatives of the UAE Armed Forces.

UAE‘s representative Nasser Al Marzouqi was elected as deputy chairman of the Arab Working Group during its first meeting which addressed proposals made by the TRA on regional initiatives for the Arab region project, based on those submitted by the TRA at the Arab Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministerial Council meeting which took place in Algeria last month.

The Arab working group meeting also resulted in the nomination of Mohamed Al Mazroui, UAE's representative to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to the post of deputy chairman of the ITU telecommunications development sector consultative team for a second time until 2018.

‘Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program,‘ was adopted at the meeting as a regional initiative for the Arab states based on the TRA proposal made in coordination with the programme management, the Ministry of Education and ICT Fund.

The one-day Arab Regional Telecommunication Development Forum, chaired by Mohammed Bubashait, director general of Telecommunication Regulatory Authority in Bahrain, was attended by the states.

Bin Hammad said: "Participating in such gatherings falls in line with the TRA's effort to achieve its objectives at the next Telecommunication Development Conference for the Arab Region. During these meetings, we have focused on the importance of mutual support and effective coordination between member states of the Arab Group. We also highlighted the necessity of adopting clear goals regarding the conference agenda in order to achieve successful TRA and Arab Group participation in the upcoming event that is held once every four years.“ - TradeArabia News Service