TDAG Chair, Roxanne McElvane Webber,
TDAG Vice Chairs,
Distinguished delegates.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this extraordinary meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group. This is also our first statutory meeting of 2025, so let me take the opportunity to wish each one of you a very Happy New Year, especially as we inch towards WTDC-25.
We closed 2024 by celebrating our successes, with our work advancing sustainable digital transformation through impactful digital development interventions around the world. This included no fewer than 65 agreements with a range of partners, resulting in the largest mobilization of funds since the establishment of BDT, and I am sure it's no coincidence that recent estimates show there were 227 million more Internet users in 2024 than a year before.
Now, as agreed at our annual TDAG meeting of 2024, we are here to discuss the progress of the Informal Coordination Group on the ITU Global Youth Summit 2025 and to also receive updates from the other TDAG working groups.
As you know, the Informal Coordination Group was created to provide advice to the BDT Director with a view to the Global Youth Summit 2025. I would like to thank Ms Agustina Brizio of Argentina and Ms Ke Wang of China, as well as Mr Abdoulkarim Oloyede of Nigeria and Ms Shahad Albalawi of Saudi Arabia, for their commitment in coordinating the group, which has already met thrice, in September and December 2024, and the most recent meeting yesterday, 22 January 2025.
The group has conducted Regional Consultations with Generation Connect Youth Envoys in order to maintain a youth-centred approach to identifying the key topics from the six ITU regions.
We are grateful to the Government of Cuba for the offer to host the summit in Varadero, from 11-13 March 2025. The arrangements are ongoing. Efforts are also underway to ensure a Youth Celebration prior to WTDC-25 in Azerbaijan, so I look forward to the report from the group.
We will equally hear from the Working Group on the Declaration, led by Dr Abdulkarim Oloyede from Nigeria, which has held two meetings so far, and I know the group is preparing an initial proposal of a narrative for the Declaration for the third meeting.
Next will be the Working Group on the ITU-D Priorities, chaired by Mr Christopher Kemei from Kenya, which has also held two meetings so far, with a third due in March.
The Working Group on the future of Study Group Questions, chaired by Dr Ahmad Sharafat of Iran, held its fourth meeting two days ago, with a fifth due in March, so there will be plenty to report!
And finally, the Working Group on Streamlining Resolutions, chaired by Ms Andrea Grippa, has also held four meetings, again with the next due in March.
I look forward to all of your reports, and let me take this opportunity to thank the working groups and the membership for your commitment. Our working groups serve to accelerate the work of the WTDC, so the participation of Member States is critically important and much appreciated.
In a few days, we will begin our Regional Development Forums, held back-to-back with Regional Preparatory Meetings, to establish synergies with the former generating ideas for the latter in advance of WTDC-25.
This past week, I was in Azerbaijan for a preliminary visit to the Baku Convention Centre, which will be an excellent venue. The perfect place for the international community to build a foundation for digital development for all. I was also honored to meet His Excellency Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan's Minister of Digital Development and Transport. He and his government colleagues are upbeat about WTDC and working hard to accelerate plans for a successful meeting.
As our own preparations intensify, the Secretariat is committed to ensuring efficient processes for WTDC-25, including registration, document control and supporting committee work.
I wish you all a productive Extraordinary Session.
Thank you.
