Geneva served as venue last 24 June for the first meeting of experts to prepare for the 2009 World Telecommunications Policy Forum (WTPF 09). The group, comprising members appointed by the member States, is meant to help the secretary-general prepare his report, the only forum working document containing factual information on the agenda points and which, in various versions, will incorporate contributions from the member States, sector members and associates. The fourth WTPF should take place in Portugal, following the bid addressed to the ITU, although the decision depends on consultation with the Council members. Portugal's invitation comes in the context of the existing memorandum of understanding with the ITU, which among other co-operation projects envisages holding one of this organisation's events in Portugal.
The meeting of experts began with introductory comments by ITU Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, on behalf of Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré, which stressed the distinct nature of this event, not only for allowing member States and sector members to take part on an equal footing, but also because it will focus on four distinct topics for the first time, not just one, as in previous forums. In the wake of the invitation to organise the WTPF, Portugal assumed the chair of this group of experts, in the person of Mário Franco from the Ministry of Public Works, Transports and Communications.
The first version of the Secretary-General's report, including the comments received, was presented by Alexander Ntoko (head of the ITU Corporate Strategy Division) and was followed by a general discussion about the members' concerns and suggestions. The USA particularly stressed that the issues mentioned in the report are not current. It was therefore suggested that other more currently relevant matters be included, such as environmental questions. The group decided that the members would have an additional week to present comments and that the secretariat would later disclose the second version of the report.
The meeting also discussed the information session to be held on the day before the forum begins. The United Kingdom's suggestion on this point was accepted, according to which the countries should indicate experienced high level speakers to take part in the information session and the secretariat will make the selection. The criteria are principally quality, experience and regional representation.
Regarding the working programme presented for the WTPF, some administrations showed concern about holding parallel meetings. The issue was thus left open and the participants asked to submit proposals on this matter.
The group also dealt with the question of current relevance of the WTPF rules of procedure. Richard Hill (of the ITU Telecommunications Standardisation Sector - ITU-T) explained that according to Decision 498 of the 2000 Council session, the rules of procedure applicable to each WTPF should be the same as in the two previous forums and thus remain current. The Secretariat will confirm the validity of these rules with the legal experts.
The group should next meet in October 2008 and possibly in early 2009.
