ITU appoints Pantami as chairman of World Summit on Information Society Forum 2022

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has appointed the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as the chairman of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022 billed to take place at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a statement, yesterday in Abuja, Technical Assistant (Research and Development) to the Minister, Dr Femi Adeluyi, noted that the appointment was conveyed to the Minister through a letter from the Secretary-General of the ITU, who noted that Pantami was appointed “in light of his overall commitment to Information and Knowledge Societies and the active role he has played in the WSIS Process” and it followed consultations with various stakeholders.

He stated that the appointment of Pantami has given Nigeria, and indeed the African continent, the unique role of coordinating the activities of the WSIS in its 20th year, following the WSIS Phase I meeting that took place in 2003 adding that it is apparent that the world has taken notice of the giant strides of Nigeria’s digital economy under the supervision of the Minister.

Adeluyi observed that the WSIS Forum 2022 which would be attended by several high-level stakeholders, including Cabinet Ministers from ITU countries, will serve as a key platform to discuss the role of ICTs as a means of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, with due regard to the global mechanism for follow-up and review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UNGA Resolution A/70/1).

According to him, the WSIS Forum also provides an opportunity to track the achievements of WSIS Action Lines in collaboration with the UN Agencies involved and provides information and analysis of the implementation of WSIS Action Lines since 2005.

He said, “The WSIS Forum, is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD with the engagement of 24 other United Nations Agencies, including FAO, ILO, ITC, UNDESA, UNICEF, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNHCR, UNODC, UNEP, UPU, UN Tech Bank, WMO, WIPO, WHO, WFP, UN Women and UN Regional Commissions. In a follow up to the UN General Assembly outcomes in 2015 on the Overall Review of the implementation of the WSIS Outcomes that called for a close alignment between the WSIS Process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the overall theme for this year is ”ICTs for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs”. The Forum aims at enhancing cooperation, partnership, innovation, exchange of experiences and good practices in ICTs for sustainable development”.

Pantami extends his immense gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for the constant support he has given the sector.