India re-elected to International Telecommunications Union Council
ITU South Asia Area Office and Technology Innovation Centre in New Delhi to be operational by January 2019
India has been elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council for another 4-year term (2019–2022). The elections to the Council were held during the ongoing ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 at Dubai, UAE.
By securing 165 votes, India ranked third among the 13 countries elected to the Council from the Asia-Australasia region, and eighth among the 48 countries elected to the Council globally. The ITU has 193 member states who elect representatives to the Council. It is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference which is the supreme organ of the Union and elects its senior officials, the 48 Members of its Council and its twelve members of the Radio Regulations Board.
India has been an active member of the ITU since 1869 and a regular member of the ITU Council since 1952.
“India shares the dream and vision of ITU to realise the world as one nation and knowledge society”, said Manoj Sinha, Union Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge). “Our strong partnership with the ITU is also demonstrated in the recent ITU decision to set up the ITU South Asia Area Office and Technology Innovation Centre in New Delhi. We are on target to have this Centre operational by January, 2019.”
The ITU Council serves as the governing body of ITU between Plenipotentiary Conferences, which take place every four years. It ensures oversight of the Union’s activities, policies and strategies, manages Working Groups on specific topics set up by Plenipotentiary Conferences or by the Council itself, and prepares the draft ITU Strategic and Financial Plans for presentation to the Plenipotentiary.
ITU Council Member States elected for 2019–2022
Region A — The Americas (9 seats) — Argentina; Bahamas; Brazil; Canada; Cuba; El Salvador; Mexico; Paraguay; United States.
Region B — Western Europe (8 seats) — France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Italy; Spain; Switzerland; Turkey.
Region C — Eastern Europe and Northern Asia (5 seats) –Azerbaijan; Czech Republic; Poland; Romania; Russian Federation.
Region D — Africa (13 seats) — Algeria; Burkina Faso; Côte d’Ivoire; Egypt; Ghana; Kenya; Morocco; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; South Africa; Tunisia; Uganda.
Region E — Asia and Australasia (13 seats) — Australia; China; India; Indonesia; Iran (Islamic Republic of); Japan; Korea (Rep. of); Kuwait; Pakistan; Philippines; Saudi Arabia; Thailand; United Arab Emirates.
ITU, through its Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), and its secretariat the Radiocommunication Bureau, is the global authority responsible for the management of the radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources.
Election results for the ITU Radio Regulations Board 2019–2022
Region A: The Americas: Chantal Beaumier (Canada); Fernando Borjón Figueroa (Mexico).
Region B: Western Europe: Yvon Henri (France); Lilian Jeanty (Netherlands).
Region C: Eastern Europe & Northern Asia: Sahiba Hasanova (Azerbaijan); Nikolay Varlamov (Russian Federation).
Region D: Africa: Elsayed Azzouz (Egypt); Samuel Mandla Mchunu (South Africa); Hassan Talib (Morocco).
Region E: Asia & Australasia: Tariq Alamri (Saudi Arabia); Akira Hashimoto (Japan); Doan Quang Hoan (Viet Nam).
