On March 1, 2022, the opening of the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), organized by the International Telecommunication Union, took place in Geneva.

WTSA has become a landmark event, not only due to the importance of its decisions in the field of telecommunications and ICT, which determine the strategy and overall policy of ITU to promote the development of telecommunication and ICT infrastructure, but also as the first ITU conference in the last two years, which is held with a physical presence delegates.

The solemn event was attended by Bilel Jamoussi, Head of the Study Group Division, TSB-ITU, who ensured the work of the Assembly as a moderator.

The solemn event of WTSA-20 was opened by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, who welcomed all the participants of the event.

Mr. Houlin Zhao said, “We are honored to welcome you all here. We have been waiting for this day for over 2 years. We have long been separated by the pandemic caused by Covid. This is the first time that such a number of delegates have gathered again. Let's appreciate the time we spend together.

The Secretary General also added:

“Thank you for joining the conference. The pandemic has taught us that digital transformation plays a very important role in human life and much depends on technical standards. More and more new companies are joining us. We work more with scientific institutions. We have the opportunity today to help all sectors: 5G, artificial intelligence, etc. Right now, too many people can't access devices and services. We need to strengthen innovation in order to connect those who are not yet connected. The most important thing is to help share the advantage of technology and share it with everyone.

Our common agenda is an ambitious one. We help move faster by developing international standards. We value AI initiatives. We are looking into the future. Ladies and gentlemen, over the next few days, we will be reviewing and monitoring the work. Let's use this conference to reinforce values."

The agenda was the opening ceremony of WTSA-20, as well as the opening of the first plenary meeting of WTSA-20.

The plenary session discussed the following issues:

1. Election of the President of the Assembly;

2. Election of vice-presidents of the Assembly;

3. Creation of committees (Structure of the Assembly);

4. Election of Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Committees and Working Groups;

5. Consideration of contributions provided by delegations;

6. Consideration of proposals for the work of the Assembly;

7. Summing up the results of the 4th Global Standards Symposium (GSS-20);

8. Reports of ITU-T study group chairmen.

Representatives of the Communications Administrations of the Regional Commonwealth in the field of communications: the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Uzbekistan and employees of the RCC Executive Committee take part in the work of WTSA-20 in a hybrid format.