Speaker Bio

Adel Mohamed Darwish, who has been recently appointed as the Director, Regional Office of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for the Arab States, brings on-board a strong experience in the field of international activities. Mr. Darwish has more than 20 years of experience in the field or telecommunication spanning incumbent operator, start-ups operator, and regulator. In his different roles, Mr. Darwish has been involved with international relations. Not only in the ITU, but also in other international organizations including ICANN, GSMA, the GCC Council, the League of Arab States, Arab Regulatory Network (AREGNET), and SAMENA Council. Mr. Darwish has held several leadership positions in major conferences at the ITU and outside. He has been known at the GCC level for his leadership of the GCC Council Roaming Working Group during the period from 2009 to 2020 for which the group achieved a major reduction in roaming rates in the region since 2016. Mr Darwish was also active in international bilateral projects and negotiations both within the Arab region and outside. Mr. Darwish, with the experience from both private and public sectors, endeavours to strengthen regional ICT evolution as well as further enhance the role of the ITU at the Arab regional level as well as in coordination with other regions globally. He aims to achieve the vision of an information society, empowered by the interconnected world, where telecommunication/ information and communication technologies enable and accelerate social, economic, and environmentally sustainable growth and development for everyone.