Speech by ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun I. Touré

Extraordinary Session of the Council : Opening Remarks

07 November 2014, Busan, Korea

Distinguished Councillors,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. Let me welcome you all, and let me congratulate each and every one of you on your election to the ITU Council at PP-14 here in Busan.

I would especially like to welcome our brand new Council Members, which include Pakistan, Uganda and Tanzania, who are returning to Council after an absence; and Azerbaijan and Lithuania, who have never before been Council Members.

We are enormously grateful for the participation of each and every Councillor, and the new management team is looking forward to four busy and constructive years ahead.

We have just a short meeting today, so I will not take up a lot of your time, but I would like to very briefly review the progress and achievements we have made over the past three weeks here in Busan.

PP-14 has approved the Strategic Plan for 2016 to 2019, as well as the Connect 2020 Resolution which sets out a clear vision and shared objectives for the future of the ICT sector.

In parallel with this – and in spite of a reduction in the Member State contributory units – PP-14 also approved the financial plan for next four-year period.

Resolutions passed in Busan concerned: Flight tracking; combating Ebola; the protection of users and consumers; youth and ICTs; gender equality; combating counterfeit devices; software-defined networks; the Internet of Things; connectivity to broadband networks; and the setting up of an experts group on the ITRs – among many others.

PP-14 has renewed and strengthened the consensus among ITU Member States on the role that should be played by the Union in the fields of Internet and cybersecurity, further enhancing ITU's engagement with all stakeholders, as well as recognizing the importance of contributing to the WSIS process.

I was also pleased to see renewed emphasis on the need for affordable international Internet connectivity for all the world's people, as well as the importance of nurturing a truly multilingual Internet.

It is also important to note that for the first time since 1992, the Plenipotentiary Conference made no amendments to the Constitution and Convention.

Finally, as I said yesterday afternoon, I was given the best leaving gift I ever could have hoped for, which was to arrive at the successful conclusion of the Conference without the need for a vote.

This is the ITU way – consensus! – and I am really grateful for the efforts of membership, who worked hard and long to achieve it.

This is really something to be proud of, and sets the Union on a great course for the next four years.

Distinguished Councillors,

With a refreshed Council, ITU is well-placed to do the work which has been entrusted to it by the Plenipotentiary Conference – and the new management team will be counting on Council's advice and guidance over the next four years.

So let me thank you for your attention, and let me hand the floor back to the Chair.

Thank you.