Members of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ended their quadrennial meeting Friday after adopting a series of resolutions throughout their sessions that will guide ICT-related policies around the globe for the next four years.
   
The closing ceremony was held after 150 attending signed the "final acts" of this year's plenipotentiary conference, which included new resolutions and decisions approved by the members.
 
Some 3,000 delegates had gathered in this South Korean port city for the 19th conference of its kind that opened on Oct. 20 to share their ideas on putting ICT (information and communications technology) at the forefront of global challenges.
  
"This conference has written amazing fresh pages of history that we will be able to look back on with pride," ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure said at the closing ceremony. 
   
Min Wonki, the South Korean official who chaired the conference, lauded that the agreements were all reached in a consensus.
   
"In the course of adopting 71 resolutions, including 21 new resolutions, we did not have one single vote," he said. "This is a testament to the spirit of consensus that has been present throughout (the conference). Even during the most heated discussions, all delegates conducted themselves professionally and continued to believe in and work for consensus."
 
South Korea's ICT Minister Choi Yang-hee echoed the view, adding members took "a crucial step forward in using ICTs to enhance human rights and welfare of all people, regardless of region, nation, gender or social background."
   
The next conference will be held in the United Arab Emirates in 2018.
   
Zhao Houlin, current deputy secretary-general, will head the ITU from next year for four years as the new chief of the organization. (Yonhap)