The UAE, represented by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), chaired the virtual consultation session of the Council members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which started on Tuesday 9 June 2020 and lasts for four days. The session discusses the most important measures need to be taken by the ITU to ensure work continuity until the next meeting of the Council is held at the ITU HQ in Geneva.

On this session, Eng. Saif Bin Ghelaita, Executive Director of the Technology Development Affairs Department at TRA, Chairman of the ITU Consultation of Councilors virtual session, said: “The significance of this session comes from its timing as it coincides with the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, which put the world and organizations in a critical position in terms of the continuity of their work. The ITU is a global organization that depends on the participation of Member States in its business and has been affected by the pandemic due to the inability of its members to attend the scheduled events, hence the importance of this virtual meeting, which will enable dealing with important matters that cannot be postponed for the continuity of the ITU work.”

Eng. Saif Bin Ghelaita added: “The current situation has become a reality that must be dealt with, and we have been testing a new type of work. The presence of the Council members in this meeting indicates their interest and appreciation for the importance of moving forward to finalize the work that cannot be delayed, and I count on the cooperation that we have witnessed to reach the desired outcomes.

There is no doubt that 2020 will be marked in history due the exceptional circumstances we witnessed, but we must do everything in our power so that it is not marked as the year of freezing and stopping works, and the lesson learned is that with cooperation between the parties the damage can be reduced”

The UAE is a Member State of the ITU Council and contributes to its work actively by being elected to a number of the ITU councils and committees. The UAE has hosted many international meetings of the ITU since 2007.