International Telecommunication Union

Vice Prime-Minister Sorin Grindeanu,
Excellencies,
Ministers and Ambassadors,
Heads of Delegations,
Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen, 

How wonderful it is to see you all here today. We are grateful to all of you for making the trip despite the COVID-19 and global geopolitical situations. Welcome to the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022!

It is fitting that Vice Prime-Minister Sorin Grindeanu welcomed our conference, as he was the one who came to PP-18 four years ago to present the invitation of Romania to host PP-22. Your Excellency, we are very lucky and pleased to have you here today.

Soon, we will enter the fourth year of the pandemic. It has been a time of trial for all of us. We have been kept apart for far too long, but we have managed to stay the course.

Dear Vice Prime-Minister, this long and difficult period has seen ICT become a huge part of people’s lives around the world. People everywhere now recognize and appreciate the power of ICT.

I am pleased to share with you a picture taken last week on 19 September at the UN General Assembly Hall, where I joined other heads of UN sister agencies to discuss the future of digital transformation. I had been there many times since 2007, but never to speak. And so I consider this invitation to be a great honor for ITU and for the ICT family.

For the next three weeks, ITU Members will discuss the future strategic plan and activities of our Union at the highest level – and Bucharest will be the world’s capital of ICT.

This is a momentous occasion and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Members, partners and others for their successful and tireless work in promoting ICT.

I know you join me in thanking UN Secretary-General António Guterres for the strong message of support to ICT and ITU he just delivered.

By highlighting the importance of ICTs for the SDGs, the leading role of ITU in facilitating ICT development, and recognizing the World Summit of the Information Society, the Secretary-General encourages us to continue to rise to the occasion.

Let me now thank our hosts, Romania, one of the oldest and most active members of our Union, and the city of Bucharest, one of Europe’s most hospitable and cultural cities. They have spared no effort to bring us to this important moment.

I take this opportunity to congratulate Romania on its digital transformation, as evidenced by key projects like “Educated Romania” and RO-NET.

Dear delegates,

We gather once more to steer our Union through challenging times.

The world still reels from the pandemic. Economic crises, natural disasters, conflicts and geopolitical tensions continue to impact billions of lives. The SDGs are under threat.

As for our own industry, we need to continue to develop new and advanced ICT technologies and services – and have them distributed fairly and equally across the globe.

2.7 billion people are still offline! There are still digital divides between developed and developing countries, between cities and villages, between men and women and other vulnerable groups.

We need to work hard to bring them online as fast as we can, with the firm belief that ICTs can help everyone, everywhere.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Equitable access to ICTs is not just a moral responsibility, it is essential for global prosperity and sustainability.

We have a lot of work ahead of us.

Let us continue to work together in the service of human development.

Let us renew our commitment to all those we serve – all the people whose lives are transformed by ICTs.

Let’s get to work building a better digital future for all.

We thank Romania for hosting us and wish them a bright digital future.

I wish you all a successful PP-22.

Thank you.