 Ladies and gentlemen a pleasant good afternoon. On behalf of our team taking part in this dynamic conference we wish to thank the government of Argentina for hosting this forum in beautiful Buenos Aires and the ITU for this opportunity to address this gathering. It is with great pleasure that the Commonwealth of the Bahamas participates in this historic World Telecommunications Development Conference, ICT for sustainable development goals. Mr. Chairman the Bahamas is committed to upholding and achieving the sustainable development goals which have been identified as being achievable through the use of ICTs among them ending poverty, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, empowering all women and girls and building resilient infrastructure while promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation. The Bahamas is now actively engaged in a process of examining and educating itself on ways to use technology to improve opportunities for the social and economic inclusion of persons as a part of its strategy to creating an ICT enabled smart Bahamas. It was in partnership with the ITU that the island of New Providence was declared a smart island the first in the western hemisphere. That vision has been expanded to a smart archipelago. We recognize that in a smart Bahamas the use of ICTs and cutting edge technology will contribute to an improved quality of life for our citizens and indeed the world. Efficiency of operation and services and competitiveness. We are also aware that the economic, social, environmental and cultural needs of present and future generations can be achieved through such measures. The Bahamas remains committed to the development of sustainable and resilient communities through focused attention aimed at finding innovative avenues in the creation of resilient infrastructure. The need to establish effective emergency communication and build resiliency has become more apparent as the Bahamas in the Caribbean region are confronted with a myriad of issues including climate change, rising sea levels and increased frequency and ferocity of seasonal storms and other weather systems. The need for ICTs to ensure a rapid response capability in times of disasters is clear. The Bahamas is aware that ICTs are critical to both survival and sustainable development. Our nation is currently in the process of ensuring that one of our southeast in islands devastated by Hurricane Irma is rebuilt as a green island with special emphasis being placed on the delivery of quality communication at all levels. As the Bahamas seeks to make transformational strides within its borders, our desires to also contribute to development of this critical sector on the stage. And so the Bahamas has pledged itself to service in this community of nations and offers itself as a candidate for the Council of the ITU in the next plenipotentiary in October of 2018. We commend to your candidature for consideration and look forward for continuing our engagement with you and these and other meetings on issues affecting the development of the telecommunication sector. Muchas gracias.