Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Remarks at Citizen Stack 2025: Conference on Citizen-Centric Digital Transformations
Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
[As prepared for delivery]
Ambassador Arindam Bagchi (Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva),
Vice Minister S. Krish-nan (Vice Minister, India's Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology),
V. K. Sara-swat (NITI Aayog member),
Sherpa Amitabh Kant (India's G20 Sherpa),
Colleagues and friends,
Good morning, and a very warm welcome to you all.
Last week, world leaders from government and industry gathered in Davos under the theme of collaboration for the intelligent age.
The intelligent age also includes GovTech.
As we saw last week GovTech – is a transformative force − one that has the potential to enable governments to be more transparent, efficient and sustainable, as well as relevant to their citizens.
According to WEF (the World Economic Forum), GovTech could deliver nearly USD 10 trillion in public value by 2034.
And we saw some great examples of countries and companies that are helping to make that happen.
I shared ITU's work on AI and GovTech, to cybersecurity and digital public infrastructure (DPI).
Every digital discussion last week highlighted the importance of clear vision and strategy for digital transformation in the public interest.
Today we will explore DPI's part in creating this clarity, speaking to priorities very much at the heart of ITU's work together with India.
I still feel the energy from October's World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly in New Delhi, where ITU members reached key agreements supporting our work in areas from AI and sustainability to DPI, throughout India's G20 Presidency, where ITU was a proud knowledge partner, the process leading to the Pact for the Future and its Global Digital Compact and preparations for our standardization assembly.
India was a leading advocate for DPI and sharing DPI globally. That's exactly the spirit that propels ITU's work.
We foster collaboration to share innovation worldwide.
In DPI, we see key opportunities to do what we do best.
We are defining technical requirements, developing standards, and building capacity around the world.
Expanding ID programmes is a specific target of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and research suggests that at least 10 of the 17 goals depend on reliable ID. India's Aadhar and broader DPI show us why DPI can open so many doors to a better life for all.
That is why it was selected as a high impact initiative at the SDG summit in September 2023 with UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and ITU as co-leads to scale inclusive and open digital ecosystems for the SDGs.
It can accelerate progress on public service delivery; financial inclusion; healthcare; education and many more areas where digital technology can make decisive contributions to sustainable development.
ITU offers support with initiatives like GovStack, Giga and our OpenWallet Forum.
GovStack provides tools and guidance for the digital transformation of public services.
Our partners include UNDP, Estonia, Germany, and the Digital Impact Alliance.
Kenya is leading one of our latest projects on prototype AI chatbots for public-service support.
Our Giga initiative with UNICEF aims to connect every school to the Internet by 2030.
We have just released a new report on DPI for education, where we should have high hopes for open networks.
Our new OpenWallet Forum with the Linux Foundation aims to help everyone prove their identity and make payments anywhere they go.
Last week in Davos, we issued a call to action for interoperability and security. I thank India for bringing its expertise to our Government Consultative Committee.
DPI looks to the future; to more innovation and growth.
With clear vision and strategy, all countries can create conditions to scale up DPI, public-private collaboration, and innovation and investment in the public interest.
I look forward to our work together on the supporting standards, capacity and skills.
