Uganda’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Paul Amoru has hosted Sifikile Donga Sibanda, the deputy Head of Mission of the Zimbabwe Embassy in Pretoria.
During the meeting held at Amb. Amoru’s office, the two principals observed that the bilateral relations between Uganda and Zimbabwe are excellent especially at the political level and urged the need to keep the cordial relations.
They noted that the relations were further cemented by President Emerson Mnangagwa’s visit to Uganda in May 2021 during President Museveni’s inauguration after the Ugandan leader had earlier been the chief guest at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo in April, 2019.
“At both the above-mentioned events, the presidents agreed to hold a Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) between Uganda and Zimbabwe whose areas of cooperation include trade and investment, mining, agriculture, education, tourism and defence among others. The two pledged to review existing MOUs and follow up on draft agreements in preparation for the JPC,” a statement from Amb. Amoru’s office said.
“Amb. Amoru used the opportunity to seek Zimbabwe’s support for Uganda’s candidature for re-election to the International Telecommunications Union Council for the period 2022-2026 at an election scheduled during the Plenipotentiary conference from September,26 to October, 14 2022 in Bucharest, Romania.”
It is said that Sibanda assured the High Commissioner of Zimbabwe’s support but also requested for Uganda’s support for Zimbabwe’s candidature for the Executive Directorship of the Development Bureau of International Telecommunications Union.
ITU
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for matters related to information and communication technologies.
It was established in May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, making it the oldest UN agency .
It was initially aimed at helping connect telegraphic networks between countries with its mandate consistently broadening with the advent of new communications technologies.
It adopted its current name in 1934 to reflect its expanded responsibilities over radio and the telephone.
On 15 November 1947, the ITU entered into an agreement with the newly created United Nations to become a specialized agency within the UN system which formally entered into force in January 1949.
It promotes the shared global use of the radio spectrum, facilitates international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, assists in developing and coordinating worldwide technical standards and works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world.
It is also active in the areas of broadband Internet, wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based meteorology, TV broadcasting, amateur radio and next generation networks.
The ITU global membership includes 193 countries and around 900 business, academic institutions, and international and regional organizations.[4]
The International Telecommunications Union is governed by the Plenipotentiary conference and the administrative council with the former being the supreme organ of the union.
The council, on the other hand, acts as the union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences and its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union's activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today's dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.
Uganda is seeking to take charge of the council .