The Plenipotentiary Conference (Plenipotentiary Conference - PP), the highest-level and most authoritative conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), of which our country is one of the founding members, is being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from October 29 to November 16, 2018.
Our country is represented at PP-18 by a high-level delegation chaired by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mehmet Cahit TURHAN, including Deputy Minister Dr. Ömer Fatih SAYAN, Chairman of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority Ömer Abdullah KARAGÖZOĞLU, BTK Board Members, as well as officials from BTK and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, and sector representatives. Our Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Can Dizdar, and Consul General in Dubai, İlker Kılıç, are also part of our delegation.
At the Plenipotentiary Conference, the Union's fundamental policies and strategic and financial plans for the next 4 years are adopted, while developments in the Union's activities over the past 4 years are reviewed. The decisions taken at the Conference, where changes proposed by member countries to the ITU's Constitution and Convention are evaluated, are binding on Member States.
Through the elections held during PP-18, the ITU Secretary-General, Deputy Secretary-General, Bureau Directors, Radio Regulations Board members, and the countries to serve on the ITU Council for the next 4 years are determined.
Our country is among the 8 members representing the Western European Region in the Council, which consists of 48 members forming 25% of ITU member countries. As a member of ITU since its foundation, our country was first elected as a Council member from the European Region (Region B) at the Plenipotentiary Conference held in Marrakech in 2002, and has continued to have a say in ITU's management by being elected to the Council at the Plenipotentiary Conferences in 2006, 2010, and 2014, completing 4 terms. Our country is also a candidate for re-election to the Council for the 2018-2022 period in the elections to be held at PP-18.
As part of the efforts for our ITU Council candidacy during PP-18, high-level bilateral contacts were held with many countries. In this context, meetings were held at the level of delegation heads and delegations with many countries, including the USA, Russian Federation, UK, People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Lesotho, Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Senegal.
Additionally, during PP-18, within the "policy statement" time slots allocated in the first week for high-level representatives to deliver policy speeches, a speech was delivered on behalf of our country by Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Dr. Ömer Fatih SAYAN on October 31, 2018. In his speech, Deputy Minister Sayan emphasized the importance our country attaches to ITU activities and our significant efforts in the field of information and communication technologies, expressing Turkey's desire to contribute effectively to the Union by once again taking a seat on the ITU Council in the 2018-2022 period.
On November 1, 2018, during the General Assembly sessions, our country hosted a coffee break for participants to announce our candidacy and seek support.