His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, affirmed that Qatar's win in hosting the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union in 2026 is of great importance, given that the Plenipotentiary Conference is considered the highest authority in the Union (ITU), which endorses its policy and associated strategies.

Qatar had earned the ITU member States' votes unanimously by hosting the Conference of Delegates during the Conference of Plenipotentiary Delegates in the Romanian capital of Bucharest.

Further, in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), HE the Minister of Communications and Information Technology stated that Qatar's hosting of this conference confirms its prestigious position on the global map and the trust it gains among the countries of the world.

HE The Minister added that the Plenipotentiary Conference, which will be held in Doha in 2026, is of invaluable importance, as it will be the last conference before achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda, and thus will be an opportunity to assess and review the progress made in achieving development goals related to the ICT sector.

His Excellency emphasized the importance of cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union, which oversees the development of information technology worldwide, especially since there is close cooperation between Qatar and the International Union in the field of monitoring and spectrum management that may result in the signing of a memorandum of understanding in these areas.

His Excellency also pointed out that the conference helps Qatar to assess and review the current situation related to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the ICT sector and measuring the extent of the country's progress in this field.

In this regard, HE the minister announced that Qatar is in the process of implementing a center for spectrum management via satellite, and it will be one of ten centers worldwide to monitor interference and determine the geographical location of the sources of that interference.

As for the progress made by Qatar in the agenda of sustainable development goals related to the agenda of the International Telecommunication Union, His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Ali Al-Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, explained that the agenda of the International Union goes with the Qatar National Vision 2030, as well as the strategy of digital transformation, especially since Qatar is one of the most accessible countries and the digital divide is almost non-existent.

Moreover, His Excellency said that the ITU agenda focuses on two parts, the first is to support the United Nations agenda in achieving the sustainable development goals, and the second is to reduce the digital divide in the world, especially with the presence of 2.7 billion people around the world who are still not connected to the Internet.

His Excellency added that Qatar is among the advanced countries in this field, and the rate of access to mobile communications service reaches more than 145 percent of the population and that all homes in Qatar receive broadband service through optical fibers, in addition to the fact that the rate of Internet access is approximately 99.5 percent.