The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has elected India as co-chair of its Digital Innovation Board, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said on Thursday.

DoT Secretary, Dr Neeraj Mittal, was unanimously elected as co-chair of the Digital Innovation Board of ITU, formed under the aegis of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development. It comprises Ministers and Vice Ministers of Telecom/ICT of 23 member countries of ITU, spanning Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America.

The Telecom Secretary had led a high-level delegation to Geneva for a series of crucial meetings at the ITU headquarters from March 18-20. The visit focused on fostering collaboration and exploring innovative initiatives in the telecommunications and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors.

The alliance established the Digital Innovation Board to provide strategic guidance, expertise and advocacy regarding its mission of building critical local enablers and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in digital development, to create a more inclusive and equitable digital future for all.

Dr Mittal also held several meetings at ITU headquarters, along with chairing a review meeting at the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva.

Permanent Representative, Arindam Bagchi, and other senior officers joined the meeting. The meeting reviewed progress on critical milestones and efforts to increase participation of India in ITU activities with greater engagement of academia and Industry members from India.

A bilateral meeting between India and Japan took place on the sidelines of the Digital Innovation Board Meeting at the ITU headquarters and Dr Mittal invited the Japanese government and industry delegates to visit and participate in ‘WTSA 2024’ and India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024.

The Telecom Secretary also co-chaired a bilateral meeting between India and Bahrain with Mohammed Bin Thamir, Minister of Transport and Telecom of the Gulf kingdom at the ITU HQ on the sidelines of the Digital Innovation Board meeting.

Both countries decided to collaborate actively in the ICT sector in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, 5G use cases, cybersecurity, and the development of a data embassy. Both agreed to revisit the MOU on ICT between the two countries that lapsed in 2015.