Malaysia aims to continue as ITU council member, says Fahmi

New Straits Times

31-05-2025

TOKYO: Malaysia intends to continue its membership as a Council Member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the 2027-2030 session, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said that as such, Malaysia hopes to gain support from several countries in the Asia-Pacific region through bilateral meetings held in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Ministerial Meeting (APT-MM) currently underway here.
"As a Council Member, Malaysia plays a role in determining the direction of ITU's strategic policies, overseeing the implementation of decisions made during the conference as well as representing the interests of the Asian region and developing countries in the field of telecommunications and digital infrastructure," he told Bernama here today.
Earlier, he held a bilateral discussion with ITU, which was represented by its Director of Telecommunications Development Bureau, Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava.
Bilateral meetings were also held with Japan's Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, Murakami Seiichiro, and China's Vice-Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Zhang Yunming.
"These meetings yielded good results. We also emphasised Malaysia's efforts in ensuring internet networks are not only widespread but also more secure," he said.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said that the ITU has invited Malaysia to attend several summits organised by the ITU.
"The first one is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia around early September and the second in Baku, Azerbaijan in November," he said.
The two-day APT-MM 2025, themed "Harnessing Emerging Technologies for Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Digital Transformation in the Asia-Pacific" and which began yesterday, brings together 31 member countries and 19 affiliates comprising governments, regulators and private agencies from the Asia-Pacific region.