TRA has successful participation in ITU preparatory meetings in Bahrain

The UAE is nominated for the post of Vice Chairman of the Arab Group working on the preparation on the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014
The Arab working group adopts the ‘Mohammad Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program’ as one of the regional initiatives

Mobilk - Representatives from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) recently returned from Manama, Bahrain having successfully participated in the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014 (WTDC 2014) Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Arab Region (RPM ARB) which took place from 29 to 31 October. The TRA also participated in the Regional Development Forum (RDF) for the Arab Region which preceded the RPM ARB taking place on 28 October with both events hosted by the Government of Bahrain.

The UAE delegation was headed by Engineer Nasser bin Hammad, Director of International Affairs at the TRA and included Engineer Rayyan Al Hashmi, Vice President of Regulatory Operations from Etisalat and representatives of the UAE Armed Forces.

The UAE representative at the ITU, Engineer Nasser Al Marzouqi, was elected as Deputy Chairman of the Arab Working Group during its first meeting which addressed proposals made by the TRA on regional initiatives for the Arab region project. The proposal gained widespread support from all Arab states participating in the meeting and will be submitted as an Arab working group proposal during the conference next year for final approval. Those present at the meeting also agreed on the group’s work mechanism in preparation for the next conference. This falls in line with the mechanism that was recently adopted based on a proposal submitted by the TRA at the Arab Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministerial Council meeting which took place in Algeria last month.

The Arab working group meeting also resulted in the nomination of Engineer Mohamed Al Mazroui, UAEs representative to the International Telecommunication Union to the post of deputy chairman of the ITU telecommunications development sector consultative team for a second time until 2018.

One of the most important outcomes of the meeting was the adoption of "Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program" as a regional initiative for the Arab States based on the TRA proposal which was recently made in coordination with the program management and the Ministry of Education and ICT Fund. This achievement will reinforce the program’s position in the Arab region and promote it on an international level during the United Nation’s official events and conferences.

 The TRA also participated in the annual event of the Arab Regional Telecommunication Development Forum which was held for one day, attended by a number of Arab nations and chaired by Mr. Mohammed Bubashait, Director General of Telecommunication Regulatory Authority in Bahrain. The UAE TRA participated in two sessions at the forum. The first session addressed the "Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program" with the participation of the Director General of the program, Mr. Mohammed Gheyath who delivered a detailed presentation about the program during which he provided a comprehensive overview of the program, its objectives and its future plans. The second session saw the participation of Engineer Nasser Bin Hammad, Director of International Affairs at the TRA, highlight international views on World Summit for the Information Society and the importance of global coordination between stakeholders in order to achieve the development objectives set by the United Nations from 2005 until 2015.

Commenting on TRAs participation, Engineer Nasser Bin Hammad said, "The TRAs participation in the series of meetings that took place in Bahrain has successfully concluded. Participating in such gatherings falls in line with the TRAs effort to achieve its objectives at the next Telecommunication Development Conference for the Arab Region. During these meetings, we have focused on the importance of mutual support and effective coordination between member States of the Arab Group.. We also highlighted the necessity of adopting clear goals regarding the conference agenda in order to achieve successful TRA and Arab Group participation in the upcoming event that is held once every four years."

"The World Telecommunications Development Conference is considered a high-level event that will be held over a period of two weeks bringing together a large number of ICT experts from all around the world. It also sees wide participation of international stakeholders from public and private sectors, ministry representatives, ambassadors and dignitaries to discuss key international resolutions and recommendations for all the six regional areas of the ITU.  The meeting aims to get the necessary support and knowledge of how to benefit from ICT to achieve sustainable development and common development goals for the region,” he added.

HE Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General, was satisfied with TRAs participation, which was characterized by submitting a range of significant proposals.

In addition to the nomination of UAE representatives for leadership positions in the ITU, Engineer Mohamed Al Mazroui was nominated to the post of deputy chairman of the consultative team and the TRA was nominated to become the Chairman of one of the study groups in the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau. All nominations falls in line with the overall vision of the UAE leadership and its strategic vision to reinforce the UAEs leading position on the global ICT map.

The successful participation in such meetings also helps fulfill the TRAs objectives to submit UAE’s nomination file for ITU Council membership for the third time in a row and the membership of the Radio Regulation Council during the largest ITU conference “The Plenipotentiary Conference” to be held in South Korea in October 2014.