Asia-Pacific Telecommunity
APT was founded on the joint initiatives of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
APT is an intergovernmental organization established in February 1979 with the aim of promoting ICT development in the Asia-Pacific region. APT has 38 member administrations (“Member”), 4 administrations who are under the category of “Associate Members”, and 140 private companies and academia (“Affiliate Members”) whose works are relevant to ICT field.
As the only intergovernmental organization focusing on ICT field in the Asia-Pacific region, APT provides important platforms for ICT policy and regulatory coordination, and for consolidating regional voices for international fora such as Conferences of International Telecommunication Union (ITU). APT also organizes variety of capacity building programs related to ICT topics, and implements several pilot projects to promote ICT development in the region.
APT WTDC-25 Coordination Portal
The World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025 (WTDC-25) is scheduled to be held from 17 to 28 November 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The APT Portal for WTDC-25 Coordination aims to provide an interactive platform for the APT Coordination Meetings during WTDC-25. APT coordination meetings will be organized by the APT Secretariat during WTDC-25 to:
- Ensure that APT Common Proposals on WTDC-25 and other contributions are presented effectively;
- Ensure APT members’ active participation in the relevant Working Groups and other meetings during WTDC-25;
- Harmonise the views of APT Members which will be represented to other regional organizations with the objective of promoting consensus building and developing common understanding on issues.
APT Preparatory Group for World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025
Introduction
World Telecommunication Development Conferences (WTDCs) are convened in the period between two Plenipotentiary Conferences to consider topics, projects and programmes relevant to telecommunication development. WTDCs set the strategies and objectives for the development of telecommunication/ICT, providing future direction and guidance to the ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D).
The ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-25) will be hosted by the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The conference will be held in Baku from 17-28 November 2025.
The 47th Session of the APT Management Committe decided to establish the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25(APT WTDC-25) to assist APT Members to prepare for a World Telecommunication Development Conference 2025 (WTDC-25) in coordinating issues of regional interest and preparing coordinated regional contributions to the Conference.
Objectives
The main objective of APT-WTDC is to coordinate on regional activities for World Telecommunication Development Conferences (WTDCs) to ensure that the interests of APT members on ICT development issues are properly represented. The activities include, but not limited to:
- To assist APT members to prepare for World Telecommunication Development Conferences in coordinating issues of regional interest and the submission of regional contributions to the Conference.
- To develop proposals from APT members that considers the interest of the Asia-Pacific region as inputs for WTDCs.
- To assist APT members during the WTDC.
Terms of References
The Terms of Reference of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDCs are as follows:
- To hold meetings during a preparatory cycle of a WTDC.
- To establish necessary Working Methods including Documents Approval Procedure and Structures of the Group in line with the APT practices and for the effective delivery of the objectives of the Group. The Working Methods of the Group are to be approved by the Management Committee.
- To identify and develop inputs from APT members for ITU Regional Preparatory Meeting (RPM) for Asia and the Pacific.
- To identify and study issues associated with the agenda of the WTDC, taking into account, where appropriate, the developments on the decisions of the previous WTDCs, and any relevant decisions of the PP, ITU Council and the TDAG.
- To develop Preliminary APT Common Proposals (PACPs) and any other appropriate documents on the agenda items of the WTDC, in accordance with APT’s Documents Framework.
- To develop APT Positions as may be required on issues for consideration at the WTDC and on proposals from other regions to the WTDC.
- To develop APT Views as may be required on issues for consideration at the WTDC to be submitted to ITU TDAG or ITU-D Study Groups, if deemed necessary.
- To represent APT in other regions’ preparatory meetings.
- To review the preparatory work of other regions and undertake with those regions if deemed necessary.
- To arrange coordination meetings during the WTDC for the APT members attending the WTDC and provide collaborative support and guidance for the APT Common Proposals presented at the WTDC.
- To report the activities and the progress of the work of the Group to the Management Committee on an annual basis, as appropriate.
Structure
Structure of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 was established at the 1st Meeting of the APT Preparatory Group for WTDC-25 (APT WTDC25-1). The APT-WTDC consists of the Plenary, a Chair, Vice-Chairs, Working Groups and a Steering Committee. (More..)