Opening remarks

1. As you are all aware, the theme of this special session is telecommunications. In particular, it is devoted to the discussion of regulatory matters of considerable interest to the many Members who have made telecom commitments during and since the WTO negotiations on basic telecommunications and, I believe, of great importance to the many reforms presently taking place in the sector. Equally important, the session offers the opportunity for an exchange of information on technical assistance sources available and needs required for supporting the evolution of national regulatory frameworks in telecommunications.

2. You may also observe that this meeting is quite unusual in that it is both a formal Council Session and a “seminar”. Taking advantage of this format, we have assembled a distinguished group of speakers and participants from all parts of the world, many of whom, I might add, have come to Geneva expressly for this meeting, and others of whom, as we had anticipated, were already here for the annual session of the ITU Council. Selecting panelists was not easy. There are so many of you with active and dynamic regulators, many very newly formed, that would each have interesting experiences to share with us. But bear in mind, that the role of our panels is to inspire discussion, and we look forward to hearing from many of you here though your interventions.

3. With that I will begin our session in earnest by inviting Mr. Roberto Blois, the newly elected Deputy Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union, to make some introductory remarks. As you are aware, the support and cooperation of the ITU throughout the Uruguay Round all the subsequent negotiations, has been instrumental in the success we have had in bringing telecommunications trade fully within the fold of the WTO and the Services Agreement — cooperation which we very much look forward to continuing in the future.