Russia and the United States are vying to lead the UN telecommunications agency, little known to the general public but crucial for modern communications, from satellites to 5G.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) elects its new Secretary General on Thursday 29 September.
The result will also be a test of Russia's influence at the United Nations, seven months after its invasion of Ukraine.
For this post, the head of the organization's development, the American Doreen Bogdan-Martin, faces the former Russian deputy minister of telecommunications, Rashid Ismailov.
This organization establishes the world standards as well for the mobile telephones as television or the Internet.
"This election is a top priority for the United States
," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in his letter nominating Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
This competition is not directly linked to the war in Ukraine, which has earned Russia the opprobrium of the West, but it will be on everyone's mind when it comes to voting on Thursday.
Moscow lost clout at the UN by invading neighboring Ukraine, but ITU member states nonetheless blocked an attempt to bar Russian candidates from running.
“Russia today is facing unprecedented pressure
,” Deputy Minister of Digital Development Bella Cherkesova said Monday at a press conference in Moscow.
“But no one can doubt that Russia has highly qualified computer scientists.
Mr. Ismailov is one of them
,” she pleaded.
Every time you make a phone call via mobile, access the Internet or send an e-mail, you benefit from the work of ITU.
»
ITU
Leadership positions in the UN are always a checks and balances exercise.
China's Houlin Zhao's second four-year term as ITU secretary-general expires at the end of December.
His successor will be chosen by secret ballot at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU, its main decision-making body.
The meeting held in Bucharest, from September 26 to October 14, is the major event of the agency's four-year calendar.
The ITU was founded in 1865, making it one of the oldest UN agencies.
It was created to manage the international telegraph networks, but has widened its field of action as technological developments such as telephone, radio, television, satellites, mobile phones and the Internet have taken place.
It brings together 193 Member States as well as some 900 companies, universities and international and regional organisations.
"Every time you make a phone call via mobile, access the Internet or send an e-mail, you benefit from the work of ITU"
, proclaims the organization.
Doreen Bogdan-Martin joined ITU's Development Office in 1993 and became its Director in 2019. Her business case is to connect more of the world to the internet and advance broadband access.
“We must provide universal connectivity supported by resilient and secure networks for the 3.7 billion people who are still unconnected
,” she said.
"We must be at the forefront to understand the transformational effects of technologies such as 5G and then 6G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and machine learning
," she argues.
US President Joe Biden said on September 20 that Doreen Bogdan-Martin had
“the integrity, experience and vision needed to transform the digital landscape”
.
“A very different leadership style”
Rashid Ismailov heads the Russian telecommunications company VimpelCom.
He was previously the general manager of Nokia in Russia and worked for Siemens and Ericsson.
Russia's Deputy Telecommunications Minister from 2014 to 2018, he believes that focusing only on expanding technologies is a mistake.
“This tech race totally forgot about human development and its effects on humans at some point
,” he said at Monday’s press conference.
To bridge the digital divide between developed and developing countries, Ismailov wants to improve the skills and capabilities of poorer countries.
The countries of the European Union should support Doreen Bogdan-Martin, who is given favorite.
A Western diplomat believes she would bring
“a very different style of leadership to the ITU”
.
