{"id":2000111113,"date":"2026-05-05T15:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000111113"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:19:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T13:19:29","slug":"rwanda-seeks-re-election-to-itu-council-showcases-digital-gains-in-geneva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-seeks-re-election-to-itu-council-showcases-digital-gains-in-geneva\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda seeks re-election to ITU Council, showcases digital gains in Geneva"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

She made the remarks on May 4, 2026, in Geneva during an official reception held on the sidelines of the ITU Council session, attended by high-level delegates including the ITU Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bakuramutsa expressed appreciation to Swiss authorities for hosting the session, before highlighting Rwanda\u2019s longstanding role on the ITU Council since 2010, where it represents the African region. She said Rwanda\u2019s engagement has been guided by its commitment to promoting universal and inclusive connectivity in line with global digital development goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted that Rwanda has actively contributed to international discussions on key issues such as meaningful connectivity, spectrum management, digital policy, and artificial intelligence, while consistently advocating for the interests of developing countries, including affordable access and bridging the digital divide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ambassador also pointed to Rwanda\u2019s broader efforts to position itself as a regional technology hub, citing initiatives such as the Smart Africa Alliance, headquartered in Kigali, and the hosting of Mobile World Congress Kigali since 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further highlighted national projects aimed at strengthening digital infrastructure and innovation, including a data-sharing platform, a cybersecurity hub, e-government services, and an artificial intelligence scaling hub targeting sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bakuramutsa emphasized that despite global progress, about 2.2 billion people remain without internet access, underlining the need for continued international cooperation. She recalled Rwanda\u2019s role in hosting major ICT events, including the World Telecommunication Development Conference in 2022, which contributed to advancing global commitments through the Kigali Declaration and Action Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the diplomatic front, she formally announced Rwanda\u2019s bid for re-election to the ITU Council, seeking support from Member States to continue contributing to the global ICT agenda, particularly in areas such as digital public infrastructure, innovation, and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking the floor, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin commended Rwanda\u2019s leadership in digital development, both in Africa and globally. She highlighted Kigali\u2019s transformation into a growing innovation hub and referenced key initiatives including the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition and Mobile World Congress Kigali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bogdan also praised Rwanda\u2019s progress in artificial intelligence, digital education, and e-waste management, as well as its continued engagement in ITU initiatives. She further acknowledged the role of President Paul Kagame in advancing the country\u2019s digital agenda on the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Delegates listen as Amb. Urujeni Bakuramutsa presents Rwanda\u2019s vision for inclusive connectivity during the ITU Council session in Geneva.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador Urujeni Bakuramutsa addresses delegates in Geneva as the country announces its bid for re-election to the International Telecommunication Union Council.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin commended Rwanda\u2019s leadership in digital development. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Doreen Bogdan-Martin joins international delegates in Geneva as Rwanda highlights its digital leadership and re-election bid to the ITU Council.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

karirima@igihe.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Urujeni Bakuramutsa, has reaffirmed the country\u2019s commitment to advancing global digital connectivity, as Rwanda officially announced its candidacy for re-election to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council for the 2027\u20132030 term.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000111118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[2285],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000111113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-technology","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-karirima-a-ngarambe-8"],"bylines":[{"id":2285,"name":"Karirima A. Ngarambe","slug":"karirima-a-ngarambe-8","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"contributors":[{"id":2285,"name":"Karirima A. Ngarambe","slug":"karirima-a-ngarambe-8","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":null}],"featured_image":{"id":2000111118,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-05-at-2.29.54-PM.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador Urujeni Bakuramutsa addresses delegates in Geneva as the country announces its bid for re-election to the International Telecommunication Union Council.","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":2048,"height":1366,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-05-at-2.29.54-PM.jpeg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-05-at-2.29.54-PM.jpeg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-05-at-2.29.54-PM.jpeg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-05-at-2.29.54-PM.jpeg","width":1024,"height":683},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-05-at-2.29.54-PM.jpeg","width":2048,"height":1366}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000111113"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000111120,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000111113\/revisions\/2000111120"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000111118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000111113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000111113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000111113"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000111113"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000111113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}