The UAE, represented by a delegation headed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), participated in the 21st Meeting of GCC Telecommunications, Information Technology and Post Ministers Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 20, 2012.

The meeting discussed a range of issues of interest to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, related to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

The UAE delegation included officials from the TRA, including Engineer Tariq Al Awadi, executive director of Spectrum and Engineer Nasser Bin Hammad, senior manager of International Affairs, in addition to representatives from Emirates Post, Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), and Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du).

Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA director- general, said, “We discussed during this ministerial meeting a number of important issues pertaining to telecommunications, Internet, and the postal fields in GCC countries, in addition to reviewing the recommendations and suggestions of the 4th meeting of ICT Steering Committee held last month at the General Secretariat. We will also make decisions related to enhancing the levels of services provided, and tackling obstacles that may hinder the co-operation between ICT and postal sectors in GCC countries.”

The ministerial level meeting focused on a number of issues. A study on the establishment of Gulf networks in GCC countries, which was suggested by the UAE — represented by the TRA — was widely welcomed by the ministers. The UAE and Bahrain were mandated to follow up with all developments of the study, suggest the organisational structure and mechanism of this network, and refer the outcomes to the coming legislation and regulation committee meeting.

Other issues discussed at the meeting included the work of the legislation and regulation committee that covers a wide range of topics such as the spread of Arabic content and the elimination of obstacles on the Internet. Also discussed was the exchange of information relating to ICT sector indices in GCC countries, establishment of a specialised centre to measure the level of development of ICT sectors, and dialogue with the European Union (EU). The transformation from IPV4 to IPV6, the effect of the Internet on emerging generations and increase in international roaming rates among GCC countries, also came up for discussion.

Other important topics discussed during the meeting included operating broadband networks in GCC countries, new security and safety systems, the GCC plan for transitioning from analogue terrestrial broadcasting to digital broadcasting, mechanism of facilitating the move of radio communications amateurs among GCC countries, and the outcomes of the radio communication committee assembly meeting in 2012 and the World Radio communications Conference 2012.