A European regional preparation meeting for the 2017 World Telecommunications Development Conference (WTDC-17) (RPM-EUR) was held last 27-28 April in Vilnius, Lithuania. The Forum for Regional Development (FDR) was held in the same place on 26 April, jointly organised by the Telecommunications Development Bureau (BDT) of the ITU and the Lithuanian national regulatory authority.
The RPM-EUR specifically discussed Europe’s inputs for the operational and strategy plan of the ITU Telecommunications Development Sector (ITU-D) as well as proposals for new regional initiatives that may result from WTDC-17.
Regional initiatives for Europe were the focus of discussion at the FDR, which is meant to create a platform for dialogue between the BDT, governments, regulators and operators regarding issues deemed to be priorities between two WTDCs.
The chair of the ITU Policy Committee of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), Manuel da Costa Cabral (ANACOM), took part in the opening session of both events on behalf of Europe. He stressed the importance of the development issues for Europe, highlighting that the European countries are together the biggest net contributor to development aid, especially assistance to less developed countries.
