 His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum second deputy ruler of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Media Council His Excellency Talha Humayed chairman of the telecommunications and digital government regulatory authority his Excellency Majed al-Masmar director-general of TDRA His Excellency Mohammed al-Ramsey deputy director-general of TDRA and chair designate of WRC 23 His Excellency Mohammed al-Zarouni deputy director-general of TDRA and dean of the WRC 23 Mr. Mario Manjevic director of the ITU radio communications bureau Mr. Cezo Anoui director of the telecommunications standardization bureau Mr. Cosmos Zava Zava director of the telecommunications development bureau ITU colleagues, friends, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, assalamu alaikum It's my honor to welcome you to the 2023 world radio communications conference. It's my first as ITU secretary general This is a special moment After four intensive years of preparation including in the face of a global pandemic We have gone through a lot together We've addressed challenges head-on and we have emerged stronger And the times are once again calling for unity Unity in a world in turmoil including in the crisis happening in Gaza and Israel Where we have seen a staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties It's a moment to remember what brings us together as one human family What we cherish most Starting with our children, especially today on World Children's Day It's a moment to reaffirm the importance of telecommunications for the preservation of peace enshrined in the ITU Constitution But most of all, it's a moment for us to pause and it's a moment for us to honor those that have been lost I would like you to Join me in a moment of silence for all the innocent civilian victims in the crisis in Gaza and Israel and around the world Wherever peace is threatened Please rise. I thank you Excellencies ladies and gentlemen This is a moment where we have an opportunity to show that we stand together That we're here to build a better future together And to do this, we have to harness the potential of radio technology and radio services From terrestrial to space-based communications to the fullest This potential is enormous Game-changing digital solutions rely on these radio communication services and can accelerate progress in climate action In education, in hunger, in poverty And 70% of all the sustainable development goal targets This is within grasp A better future is possible And that's why I've seen so much hope So much hope placed in digital since I took office at the beginning of this year It's the hope that we're witnessing among new space-faring nations when 40% of the sdgs rely on earth observation and global navigation satellite systems It's the 5g rollout when it's estimated that this technology will add almost one trillion us dollars to the global economy by 2030 It's the amateur radio operators who were able to send damage reports in the middle In this epicenter of an earthquake when all other communication channels were down It's the girls that I met in victoria falls when we celebrated girls and ict day earlier this year Whose dreams depend on a STEM education It's the refugee camp that I visited Recently where there was no signal, but there was so much hope for digital It's the environmental scientist and meteorologist who are using earth observation data for climate monitoring and weather prediction In an effort to better understand our planet These people come From different countries from all walks of life But they have one thing in common The significant role played by radio frequency spectrum and associated satellite orbits in their lives Often without them ever realizing it I think we need to keep three things in mind during this conference First These finite natural resources are the building blocks of an advanced global communications They are the heart. They are the core of our digital society And they're increasingly in demand As the global digital economy continues to expand every single radio service is competing for spectrum To support new and existing applications Skyrocketing user numbers and exploding network traffic Second sharing Sharing those resources equitably for all of humanity requires international coordination and stewardship That's what brings us here today And it's where the radio regulations come into play These regulations offer stable and predictable environments for regulators while accommodating new and innovative technologies that users want And that brings me to my third point Consensus Consensus is more important than ever before And you demonstrated that last week when we concluded the radio communications assembly Of course balancing the needs of 193 member states is no mean feat But you did it you did it last week And I think we will do it again at the WRC The entire WRC process is a testament to the power of collaboration in setting High goals and being able to follow through on them Delegates we've talked About the how How to have a robust and reliable global communication system How to prevent harmful interference How to address the challenges of the digital world no matter how quickly It evolves or how complex it might get But the why is equally important It relates to our two strategic goals universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation Universal connectivity because today One third of humanity is still offline And if we want to build a better digital future we can't do it without them And sustainable digital transformation Because we need to lead by example. We must lead by example And that's why I was so excited last week at the radio assembly When we adopted a new resolution on space sustainability I think it was a real milestone in answering the call of the Bucharest Plenty Potentiary conference That's why I was also glad to see energy efficiency and environmental sustainability part of the specifications for IMT 2030 6g It's also why ITU will have a strong presence at COP 28 when we roll out our green digital action track Before I conclude I want to thank our incredible host the united Arab Emirates For welcoming us once again in Dubai One of the world's leading innovation and technology hubs WRC 23 as his excellency has just mentioned It's it's the sixth major ITU conference in in Dubai and And I've actually been to all of them I was even here for the very first one and organized it which was the global symposium for regulators back in 2007 Some of you will also remember that it's the second time that the UAE is actually chairing WRC the UAE actually chaired the WRC in 2012 UAE is a handful of countries that has a space program It was the first country to actually have an AI minister And it's all part of the we the UAE 2031 This year with COP 28 The UAE is hosting not one but two major UN conferences at the same time It's a testament of UAE's role on the world stage as we're about to celebrate your national day on the 2nd of December Ladies and gentlemen, we are at an inflection point an inflection point in tech history All around us technologies are poised to transform the way that we do just about everything Radio communications are at the top of the global agenda And these are no ordinary times But then the ITU is no ordinary organization In the lead up to next year's UN summit to the future We have an important role to play in helping to shape a better digital future And let's not pit technology against sustainable development The case is clear. We need both Let's choose universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation The strong mandate that ITU member states gave us But most of all Let's build a digital future that works for everyone and for our planet Equitably managed spectrum and satellite orbits are among the best tools In our toolbox to make good on this commitment And achieving this will profoundly impact the lives of millions And it will take us one step closer to connecting the unconnected Outside the doors of this very conference center, we can see the museum of the future The museum of the future shows a journey that takes us to 2071 Reimagining the future as the museum describes Begins with opening to new possibilities to shape today's world for a better tomorrow Ladies and gentlemen what we do next What we do together will matter for generations to come I thank you very much. Thank you