The United States has won against Moscow in the midst of the war in Ukraine. By beating the Russian candidate, the American Doreen Bogdan-Martin was elected Thursday in Bucharest as the first woman to head the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva.
She received 139 votes in the ballot at the organization’s Plenipotentiary Conference, the highest body. The Russian Rashid Ismailov obtained only 25 votes. In front of the member states, the American said she was “very grateful” and moved, while the organization spoke of a “historic” election.
“I’m sure she will be a very good secretary general,” said his Russian opponent. After this election, which promised to be tense because of the international situation, the next boss of the ITU called for “union” and promised to continue to make it an “innovative” organization.
She must begin her four-year mandate next January, when the world is facing “significant challenges” with conflicts, climate change and even food insecurity, she also added.
This 56-year-old official, who has worked for several decades at the ITU, had received strong support a few days ago from American President Joe Biden. Four years ago, she became the first woman to hold elected office since the organization was launched nearly 160 years ago. Ms. Bogdan-Martin will succeed the Chinese Houlin Zhao who has served two terms.
Appeal for the most vulnerable
The ITU, although technical, takes on a considerable role with new technologies. These are important in the challenges between great powers, especially currently with the war in Ukraine. kyiv accuses Russia of “illegally” using Ukrainian networks, particularly in the east, in violation of ITU rules.
Faced with the American, Mr. Ismailov, a former deputy minister of telecommunications, had admitted that the game would be difficult for him. Unable to conduct a real campaign with the sanctions, he started late on the American.
Among the main challenges, the next Secretary General will have to continue to advance the connectivity of individuals in the different countries. She said Thursday that she wanted to “improve” everyone’s situation on this issue by 2030, at a reasonable cost, especially for the most vulnerable in developing countries. Nearly 3 billion people in the world still do not have access to these new technologies.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats