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Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, and Dear Colleagues.
Congratulations! We have now come to the end of the 19th Plenipotentiary Conference. And what a great 3 weeks it has been!
We have achieved so many important outcomes and have delivered a very successful PP-14. Each and every one of us played an important role in this wonderful achievement.
Now, I would like to recognize those who helped me to carryout the responsibility of PP-14 Chair.
I would first like to thank my Government, and in particular Minister Choi Yanghee and Vice Minister Yoon Jong Lok of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future
Planning, for their confidence in me to take on this responsibility on behalf of the Republic of Korea.
A very big thanks to Mayor Suh Byung-Soo and the City of Busan for hosting PP-14 and making such excellent preparations to welcome the international community. I would also like to thank the citizens of Busan for their warm hospitality, and all local volunteers who were so helpful to all of us.
I would also like to acknowledge and express appreciation to all ITU elected officials. Of course, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Secretary-General, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, for his extraordinary efforts, especially in the Conference’s last days, to ensure that we came together to achieve our Final Acts in full-consensus.
To Secretary-General-elect Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary-General-elect Malcolm Johnson, Director Francois Rancy, and Director Brahima Sanou, I thank you for your tireless efforts throughout the Conference. I am very proud to have had the opportunity to work so closely with these great gentlemen. I am absolutely sure that each of you will continue to devote yourselves to the work and success of the Union together with newly elected Dr. Chaesub Lee.
I would also like to thank the Vice-Chairmen of the Conference for their excellent support. They are:
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Amb. Mr. Daniel Sepulveda
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Mr. Marcin Krasuski
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H.E. Mr. Nikolay Nikiforov
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Mr. Samuel Muchineripi Kundishora
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Mr. Rabindra Nath Jha; and
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Mr. Nasser Bin Hammad
For the long hours spent at the committee-level, facilitating discussions and producing the compromise texts that make up our Final Acts, I would like to thank the Committee Chairs. They are:
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Mr. Timofey Kim, Chairman of Committee 2
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Mr. Paarock Vanpercy, Chairman of Committee 3
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Dr. Imad Hoballah, Chairman of Committee 4
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Dr. Frederic Riehl, Chairman of Committee 5
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Ms. Caroline Greenway, Chairwoman of Committee 6; and
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Mr. Musab Abdulla, Chairman of the Working Group of the Plenary
Of course, the successful work of the Committee Chairs could not been achieved without the effort of the many Ad Hoc Group chairs and vice-chairs that put in countless hours to help deliver consensus. Thanks to all of you.
For its support in preparing me to effectively carry-out the duties of the Chairman, I would like to thank the incredible woman, Ms. Doreen Bogdan, and her two team-members:
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Ms. Beatrice Pluchon, and
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Ms. Elizabeth Aschenbrener
A very special note of thanks to the ITU Legal Advisor, Mr. Arnaud Guillot, for his unwavering support. I really don’t think our outcomes could have been possible without him.
In fact this Conference would have had a totally different outcome without the great work of the entire ITU Secretariat. I would particularly like to note the strong support provided by:
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Mr. Tomas Lamanauskas,
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Mr. Alassane Ba,
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Ms. Patricia Benoit-Guyot,
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Mr. Antoine Dore,
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Mr. Ahmed Elsherbini,
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Mr. Eric Dalhen,
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Ms. Jeounghee Kim,
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Ms. Mardjaneh Khabiri Herscu; and
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Ms. Sarah Parkes.
I would also like to thank the Secretariat from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, who have supported me every day since I began this journey almost a year ago. A very special thanks to the members of my personal Secretariat:
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Mr. Baek Ilsup,
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Ms. Jang Seoyeon,
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Mr. Kim Hyojoong,
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Mr. Yoo Byeongy-gyu,
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Ms. Hwang Yoon-jeong; and
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Mr. Daniel Munoz-Smith – the person who often joined me on screen throughout the conference.
Thanks also to the Interpreters and Captioning Team here at the Conference and the Translators working in Geneva for the excellent work that allowed this conference to proceed in a very timely manner.
And finally, many thanks to you, dear colleagues, for the great support you provided me over the past 3 weeks. Your high level of cooperation has demonstrated the solidarity of the ITU. In the course of adopting 71 resolutions, including 21 new resolutions, we did not have one single vote, not even a single Point or Motion of Order.
This is a testament to the spirit of consensus that has been present throughout PP-14. Even during the most heated discussions, all delegates conducted themselves professionally and continued to believe in and work for consensus. The sincere cooperation I witnessed among you is something that has affected me deeply, and what I will personally remember most from this great experience.
In closing, I look forward to celebrating the ITU’s 150th Anniversary with you in Geneva in May, 2015.
And, I am sure that in 4 years, when we gather in the United Arab Emirates for the 20th Plenipotentiary Conference, many of the goals envisioned here in Busan will have been achieved.
I wish our colleagues from the UAE all the best in their preparation to host PP-18. I know that they will work very hard and will organize a great Plenipotentiary Conference.
Finally, I hope your stay in Busan, Korea has been rewarding and has given you an experience that you will never forget; I know I won’t.
I wish you a pleasant and safe journey home
Thank you.
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