 Ministers, your Excellencies, the essential delegates, and participants, it is a great honor to participate in this planarization of the ITU planning potential and to have this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Universal Postal Union and the wonderful city of Bucharest. I wish to express my sincere gratitude for the efforts of the ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Foreign Zhao, and the ITU Secretary yet for their preparation as well as to the government of Romania for hosting this wonderful planning potential. The ITU and the UPU have a long history and share strong relationship. Both organizations have played a key role in connecting people and ensuring inclusiveness over the centuries. Both took root in the capital of Berun as an inception around 150 years ago, and we remain through sister organization in this day with many shared policy objectives and joint initiatives. The postal network is crucial to the world, social, economic, and cultural development, especially during times of crisis and in the face of natural disasters, pandemics, and conflicts. Political postal services keep communities connected and functioning. Both also deliver government relief, health service, food and educational supplies, and help business to continue trading, all thanks to ICT. Digital transformation and sustainability are two mega trends that emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis arising from global conflicts. The UPU is encouraging the postal sector to embrace ICT with a view to achieving sustainable digital inclusion, financial inclusion, the inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in e-commerce, and cyber protection of the postal network as a critical national infrastructure as well as ensuring member countries' contribution to the sustainable development goals. However, with almost half the world's post office not yet connected to the Internet, these benefits remain at risk in many member states. A strong partnership between the postal and telecommunications sectors will help countries to achieve full and meaningful Internet connectivity. I firmly believe that by working together, we can help to strengthen not only the ITU and the UPU, but also society as a whole to benefit in particular the millions of disadvantaged people in all communities. In closing, I wish to congratulate Ms. Bob Dhan Marching on her election as a new ITU Secretary-General, Mr. Lamanaska as a new Deputy Secretary-General, and Mr. Manebich, Mr. Onoe, and Mr. Sabasaba on their elections as Bureau Directors. We look forward to working with you to deliver meaningful connectivity and sustainable digital transformation for all member countries. Thank you very much for your kind attention.