Date: Wednesday, 11 November 2026, from 0930 to 1230 hours
Place: DECC, Hall and Room TBC
Contact: ppministerial@itu.int
Who can participate:
– Ministers and high-ranking delegates from ITU Member States who submit an expression of interest to speak
– Invited executive- or C-level leaders with relevant expertise in emerging technologies.
Format: A closed-door discussion at ministerial and executive level, designed for focused and interactive exchange. Ministers and executive heads will each have up to 3 minutes to present their perspectives; other participants will each have up to 2 minutes.
How to participate: Ministers who would like to speak are invited to submit an expression of interest by 25 October 2026 by clicking here. Each Minister may select one high-level
thematic discussion only. Speaking slots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
What Ministers will discuss:
Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, advanced space communications, next-generation connectivity systems and others, are rapidly transforming the global digital landscape. New developments in satellite communications, including large low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations, optical communications, direct-to-device services, and emerging lunar communications, are expanding connectivity opportunities, while AI and other emerging technologies offer significant potential to accelerate innovation, productivity, resilience, and sustainable development. At the same time, persistent divides in infrastructure, connectivity, computing power, data, skills, and institutional capacity continue to shape which countries can develop, access, and benefit from these technologies.
These developments underscore the importance of international cooperation, multistakeholder engagement, capacity development and the timely development of international standards to support innovation while fostering trust, compatibility and equitable access. They also highlight the need for effective policy and regulatory approaches, robust human oversight, strengthened cybersecurity, and coordinated approaches to spectrum management, among others. Through enhanced partnerships, knowledge-sharing and innovation ecosystems, emerging technologies can support universal and meaningful connectivity, sustainable development, human dignity and shared prosperity.