Geneva – ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a historic visit to UN Headquarters in Geneva where the two discussed global access to the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICT).
Russia has long been a supporter of ITU and was one of its founding members nearly 150 years ago.
Prime Minister Putin reaffirmed his support and that of the Russian Federation to ITU and to the growth and development of the ICT sector. He said Russia was determined to contribute to the work of the Union and to strengthen the collaboration with the organization. Mr Putin referred to the importance of information technologies, in particular Internet services, which have a key position on the international agenda. He said that when we are talking about the democratization of international relations, we cannot ignore information technology.
ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré said that solid political and technical support from the Russian Federation has contributed to the adoption of many ITU resolutions and decisions, which have helped deliver social and economic progress worldwide. He lauded Russia on its stellar progress in the ICT sector, pointing out that the Russian population enjoys 166 per cent mobile cellular subscriptions, which is over twice the global average. Dr Touré pointed out that while mobile connectivity is continuing to grow in Russia, more remains to be achieved in the roll out of broadband. He said that Russia’s scientific contribution to the global community, in particular to space exploration and radiocommunication, have helped us meet our objectives to connect the world. He also shared his views on the future development of the Internet and highlighted the importance of international cooperation on cybersecurity.
Dr Touré extended an invitation to Prime Minister Putin to attend the 40th anniversary holding of ITU Telecom World in Geneva in October this year.
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