The eighteenth Plenipotentiary Conference (Guadalajara 2010) concluded its activities on October 22, witnessing the second consecutive UAE membership at the ITU Council. The United Arab Emirates participated in the (PP10) with a high-level delegation headed by H.E. Reem Al Hashimi, Minister of State, in addition to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) chaired by H.E. Majed Al Mesmar, TRA Deputy Director General, vice-chairman of the UAE delegation.

Joining the Minister of State and the Deputy Director, was H.E. UAE Ambassador to Mexico Saeed Al Zaabi, UAE Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Obaid Al Zaabi, Engineer Tariq Al-Awadi, Executive Director of the spectrum management and International Affairs in TRA, who took over the chairmanship of the delegation, as well as Engineer Nasser Bin Hammad, Senior Manager of International Affairs at TRA, vice-chairman of the delegation. Furthermore, the UAE delegation incorporated members from the Armed Forces, Etisalat, du, Yah Sat and Thuraya.

During the Conference, the ITU budget plans, as well as its strategic and operational plans for the upcoming four years were adopted by more than one hundred sixty member states (nearly two thousand and two hundred participants).

Regarding the UAE participation in the PP10, H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General said: “The participation of the Emirati Delegation was honorable and reflected the extent development of the UAE in the field of ICT. We started the preparations for the UAE participation long time ago; TRA coordinated with all the partners who took part with us during this renowned event.”

Many proposals and working papers, submitted by regional groups (such as Arab Group, American Group, European Group, Asian Group and Commonwealth Group) were discussed during the conference. Through the active participation of the member states, the conference addressed crucial and critical issues such as children online protection and utilizing the ICT tools to the people with special needs. Additionally, other topics were discussed aiming to strengthen the role of the ITU concerning the implementation of World ICT Summit outcomes.

UAE participated effectively in the (PP 10) activities as the President of the Arab Group and the President for the Arab team during the conference headed by Engineer Tariq Al-Hawdi, who was also nominated for the vice-presidency of the conference on behalf of the Arab Group.

During the conference, several Arab Worksheets were submitted to showcase various essential issues such as Resolution no. 40 concerning the implementation of World ICT Summit outcomes. Another submission was that regarding the new resolution on children online protection from cyber threats. Also, the new resolution on defining the Constitution and the Convention, followed by Resolution no. 153 regarding the dates of the Plenipotentiary Conferences as well as the upcoming sessions of the ITU Council. Another essential issue was showcased through Resolution No. 58, which emphasized on the recognition of the Arab Group as one of the regional groups.