Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne has revealed that Australia will be pushing for re-election in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest, Romania.

This decision was brought about by the Australian Government’s desire to support the ITU Council’s efforts to promote accessible and inclusive global communications.

“Australia’s re-election campaign will focus on our efforts to build global connectivity, particularly in the Pacific and other developing states, by sharing Australia’s domestic experience in improving connectivity in remote locations,” Minister Payne said.

“Australia’s campaign will also reflect our strong commitment to promoting liberal-democratic values in key international standard-setting organisations like the ITU.”

Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher stated that the re-election is vital as it will support the country’s commercial and strategic interest in reliable, interconnected global telecommunications and information and communication technology (ICT).

“Our region relies on global communications networks every day for business and work, education and entertainment, which is why our continued participation in the ITU is critical to continually improve services throughout the Asia Pacific region,” Minister Fletcher said.

The Plenipotentiary Conference, which is expected to convene from 26 September to 14 October 2022, will see to the election of a new Secretary-General (SG), a new deputy Secretary-General (deputy SG) and new directors for the ITU Radiocommunications Sector (ITU-R), ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), and ITU Development Sector (ITU-D).

The International Telecommunication Union Council is a specialised United Nations agency that brings together both governments and industry to support efficient, interoperable and affordable global telecommunication networks and services. The agency uses policies on a range of critical telecom issues and regulatory activities in order to set the global standard on the best practices for ICT services all over the world.

This article was first published on CommsRoom

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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