<span style="color: #222222;">India today made a strong pitch for its candidature for ITU Council at the Plenipotentiary Conference today in Dubai. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary DOT who is leading India's delegation at the ITU's 20th Plenipotentiary Conference today spoke of India being a committed and trusted partner in driving forward the global development agenda of the ITU, and solicited  the support of all Member States – to serve as a member of ITU Council for the period 2019-22.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) 20th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-18) opened on Monday in Dubai with a global call for the world to "act as one" to connect the world's nearly four billion people who remain unconnected to the Internet. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">ITU is unique in the United Nations family in bringing together 193 Member States, over 700 private sector companies and more than 150 academic institutions. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">It plays an integral role in enabling the development and implementation of ICTs worldwide by: coordinating the shared global use of the radiofrequency spectrum; promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits; working to improve communication infrastructure and digital skills everywhere; and establishing worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communication systems.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">PP-18 is taking place from 29th  October to 16th  November, and is being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE.</span><br />''