The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14) has opened with international delegates and industry stakeholders in the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai and will run until April 10.

The opening press conference was attended by Dr Hamadoun I Touré, secretary-general of the ITU, Brahima Sanou, director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (ITU-D) and Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, director general of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) who was elected as the official WTDC-14 conference chair.

“WTDC-14 represents a pivotal moment in the global ICT agenda with much of the decisions and agreements made here in Dubai having a positive impact right across the world,” said Mohamad Al Qamzi, chairman of the UAE TRA.

“We all gather with the same intention, that being, to extend the benefits of ICT to those who need it most and propel the world one step closer to the full implementation of a genuine global information society. Owing to the significance of the event the preparation behind the scenes for WTDC-14 has been meticulous and the entire nation looks forward to the rest of the conference with great promise,” he added.

“Without doubt the opening day was an overwhelming success and as the official WTDC-14 host nation, the UAE is confident that the momentum generated on March 30th will be continued right up until the closing stages on April 10th. The conference agenda is an ambitious one with many items to discuss and key decisions to make in order to collectively identify the ICT development priorities for the next four years,” he concluded.

Held under the theme ‘Broadband for Sustainable Development’, over 1, 500 official delegates and over 50 ICT ministers were in attendance from over 130 countries.

As the official host county of the conference, the TRA on behalf of the UAE hosted an evening reception for all WTDC-14 delegates at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Dubai. This event falls in line with the UAE being nominated for two positions in the upcoming ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in October (the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) and the ITU Council). – TradeArabia News Service