 Mr. Chair, Ministers, senior government officials, ITU elected officials, fellow participants. First of all, let me express Canada's deep appreciation and gratitude to the government of Romania for hosting this plenipotentiary conference in this beautiful city and in this magnificent palace. Over many years at the ITU, we have witnessed Romania's great contribution to the work of the Union. More recently, Mr. President, we have you as your great team and you have participated with diligence and success at a multitude of regional organizations of telecommunications like ours in the Americas. The Inter-American Commission of Telecommunications, Citel. You have paved a very positive and consensus-based way forward to this plenipotentiary conference, provided valuable advice and views, and generated an environment of friendship and open communication for which we are very grateful. Let me pause here to remind everyone that we recently participated in the World Telecommunication Development Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda. I would like to express our sincere gratitude and congratulations to the government of Rwanda and particularly to Minister Pauline Gabire for having hosted such a successful conference, the first ITU Development Conference on the African continent. I would also like to share our congratulations to the government of Rwanda and to the UIT Development Bureau for the global summit of youth organized in the initiative of Generation Connect, which took place just before the global conference on the development of telecommunications. To say that the participants were a very stimulating and energetic event that will look more than 450 years old in the Kigali kingdom and more than 4,000 participants from all over the world. To the youth envoys that were in Kigali and to those listening today, Canada congratulates you. Rest assured that we will continue supporting your efforts and your rights for a meaningful engagement in the decision-making processes on your digital future. The digital future is now and you have a meaningful role in shaping it. Certainly, youth require and we hope for them a world of peace and so in the context of the war in Ukraine we must reaffirm our commitment to the UN Charter. Mr. Chair, in the next three weeks that await us, allow me to highlight one of the biggest priorities of Canada in a fundamental role that will play this conference of full potential in the orientation of the next four years of the UIT. Whether on radio communication, telecommunications standardization or development matters, our collective priority at the ITU should continue to be on connecting the unconnected, bridging the digital divide, including the gender divide, empowering youth, all with a particular emphasis on the needs of developing and least developed countries. As we discussed during the ministerial round table on building a better future for all held in these beautiful premises on September 25th and best reflected by the Bucharest declaration, connectivity is at the center of sustainable digital transformation. We need to redouble our efforts to deliver prompt and tangible results. We need to take additional steps to ensure no one is left behind. As a key enabler of innovation, competitiveness and economic and social prosperity, digitalization needs to be premised by fundamental principles of universality, equity, affordability and trust and confidence in the use of ICTs. Tout cela est possible si nous unissons nos forces celles du secteur privé, de la société civile et du monde universitaire et si nous adoptons des cadres réglementaires qui favorisent la concurrence, l'investissement, l'esprit d'entreprise et l'innovation. These principles should guide policymakers, citizens, businesses and civil society organizations, all in the understanding that our telecommunication and ICT future lies not with state-centric, top-down decisions, but with a collective, multi-stakeholder decision-making process that includes the voices of all, including youth and particularly women. Mr. Chair, malgré tous nos affaires et nos réussites collectives, 2,7 milliards de personnes ne sont toujours pas connectées. Le plus part se trouve dans le pays en développement et le pays le moins avancé et la majorité des femmes. C'est tout simplement inacceptable. Nous devons prendre les maisons nécessaires pour qu'à l'issue de cette conférence de plein de potentiaires nous rentrions tous chez nous avec un esprit de consensus réneval et le sentiment qu'on a venu a beaucoup plus rapide ce profil à l'horizon. You can count on Canada's ongoing support. Merci. Thank you.