 Excellencies, Distinguished Counselors, Secretary General Mr. Hu Lin Zhao, Deputy Secretary General Mr. Malcolm Johnson, Directors of the Bureau, Mr. Francois Ranci, Mr. Cheh Sub Lee, Mr. Brahima Sanu, Ladies and Gentlemen. As we begin the 2016 Session of Council, I would like to thank Mr. Min for his leadership as Chair of Council 2015, and you for the confidence you have placed in me and the Vice Chair of the Council, Dr. Eva Spina of Italy. You have elected us from among the 48 counselors, which is a vote of confidence for our leadership and a sign of progress for gender equality. This is the first time that both the Chair and the Vice Chair of Council are women, and we're making history together. I would especially like to thank my administration, as well as my beloved region, the Americas, for your support. PP-14 was a watershed event for defining the strategic direction of the Union, including the ITU's role in promoting global connectivity. It is also for the spirit of collaboration and cooperation of mutual respect and common purpose that PP-14 will be remembered. We are all grateful to the government of the Republic of Korea and the Chair of PP-14, Mr. Won-Ki Min, for the success of that conference. We are now at the midpoint between plenty-potentiary conferences, and the decisions of this Council will establish the course for a number of important issues. Last year, leaders from around the world committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 goals, setting us on a path to a more prosperous, equitable, and sustainable world. And the 10-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society reaffirmed the wisest vision of a people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented information society. At this Council, we will ensure the ITU's contribution to achieving the SDGs and to fulfilling the vision of WISIS and Connect 2020. As President Obama said during the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, we recognize that our most basic bond, our common humanity, compels us to act. Earlier this month at the WISIS Forum, Ambassador Sepulveda emphasized our commitment to heating the SDG call to action by harnessing the power of ICTs through our Global Connect initiative, which aims to catalyze the efforts of all stakeholders to bring 1.5 billion additional people online by 2020, underscoring the idea that Internet connectivity is as important to development as other forms of infrastructure. This Council will make decisions about future conferences and meetings of the Union, setting the dates and venues for the 2017 World Telecommunication Development Conference and the 2019 World Radio Communication Conference, enabling global development and wireless technology as only the ITU can do. We will also discuss preparations for the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly to be held later this year. We will hear from the chairs of Council working groups and consider their recommendations on important issues such as endorsing a document access policy. We will determine how to commence the review of the International Telecommunication Regulations and conduct the experts group. We will also approve the operational plans for 2017 to 2020 and discuss other important issues including the Joint Inspection Unit Report, improvements to the Plenty Potentiary Conference, youth and ICTs, and gender mainstreaming. Distinguished Councilors, I count on your goodwill, experience and spirit of cooperation to move us to consensus on the many important issues before Council. We are all in this together, sharing our experiences and collectively solving problems across a wide range of issues. We must lead by example and commit to bring forth the best results with everyone equally happy. It is within our ability, yours and mine, to govern wisely and to work together productively to create a bright future and a positive environment in this union. Thank you very much.