The ITU Forum “Smart Sustainable Cities: Organizational and Technical Aspects of Development” was held on March 16-18, 2021 in a hybrid format. This event took place in Minsk, Republic of Belarus. The ITU Forum combined both face-to-face and remote participation.

The above meeting was opened and the Minister of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus Shulgan Konstantin Konstantinovich made a welcoming speech.

The Director of the Regional Branch of the International Telecommunication Union for the CIS Region Natalia Vyacheslavovna Mochu, General Director of RUE Beltelecom Yury Nikolayevich Petruchenya and Director of Giprosvyaz OJSC Andrey Ivanovich Karaim also greeted the participants.

The ITU Forum "Smart Sustainable Cities: Organizational and Technical Aspects of Development" was organized jointly with OJSC "Giprosvyaz" with the support of the Ministry of Communications and Informatization of the Republic of Belarus. A smart city is a new generation city concept that provides for effective management and ensuring a high standard of living for the population through the use of innovative technologies.

The objectives of the Forum were:

- familiarization of specialists with the latest world achievements in the field of smart sustainable cities, implemented under the auspices of the ITU;

- consideration of the proposals of the ITU member states in the region on the unification of approaches to the construction and development of smart sustainable cities;

- determination of the area and order of interaction between government and commercial structures in the joint implementation of smart city solutions.

The event was attended by representatives of the ITU, government bodies, regional executive committees, as well as leading organizations of science and education.

The ITU Forum program consisted of several Sessions in the following areas:

- organizational aspects of the development of smart sustainable cities;

- technical aspects of the development of smart sustainable cities.

Representatives from the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Ukraine made a presentation and shared practical experience in building a smart sustainable city.

The Forum also hosted a meeting of the ITU-T Study Group 20 Regional Group for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus. This meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the ITU-T Study Group 20 for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the representative of PJSC Rostelecom in Geneva, Alexey Sergeevich Borodin.

The ITU Forum allowed leading experts from different countries to exchange experience in the development of smart urban technologies and solutions on the most pressing issues, to achieve a common understanding of the problems of a smart city and ways to solve them.