India signs host country agreement with the ITU

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications and Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed the Host Country Agreement (HCA) for the establishment of an Area Office & Innovation Centre of ITU in New Delhi on 3rd March 2022. International Telecommunication Union is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. ITU currently has a membership of 193 countries and over 900 private-sector entities and academic institutions. The Area Office and Innovation Centre of ITU at New Delhi is expected to serve South Asian  countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India.  The Host Country Agreement provides the legal and financial framework for establishment and operations of the Area Office.