The long-standing track record of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), on the occasion of the organisation’s 150th anniversary.

“The ITU has a long and successful history full of achievements of which it can be proud. With its work in radio communications, standardisation and development, and active membership in a number of international committees, the ITU has played an important role in making advances in global telecommunications.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain is proud to have been able to be a part of that history following its membership in 1975 and has achieved numerous milestones as a result of its membership, including the hosting of the International Regulators’ Forum in 2014 as well as the chairmanship of a number of important committees of international conferences held by the ITU, said His Excellency.

He congratulated the newly elected Secretary General of the ITU, Mr Houlin Zhao on the 150 year anniversary, saying, “The Kingdom of Bahrain reaffirms its’ commitment to the ITU and to the international telecommunications community and will continue to strive for a forward-looking approach to building the future digital society, a goal which is at the forefront of the international community. We believe that what Bahrain has achieved so far in this regard demonstrates our commitment to this common goal and that have the necessary competencies to stand amongst the countries who are leading the industry forward.”

The ITU is an inter-governmental specialised agency of the United Nations that is responsible for international issues that concern information and communication technologies. The organisation has 193 member countries, with 22 countries from the Arab region alone, including the recent addition of the State of Palestine. The ITU was established 80 years before the formation of the UN.