From May 11 to 14, 2016, the world's telecom regulatory authorities gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to take part in the 16th edition of the Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR). The GSR was organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt, with need for defining and setting building blocks for smart societies in a connected world being one of the GSR's primary aims.

SAMENA Council took active part in the GSR, adding to its leaders panel discussions while also chairing the 6th CRO Meeting, a worldwide private-sector representative forum made up by ITU-D sector-member business operating in the digital area. More than 60 business entities had signed up and expressed interest to sign up with the CRO Meeting in order to bring private-sector's requirements and business obstacles to the attention of the ITU as well as to appropriate government bodies.

Bocar BA, CEO, who along with other delegates from SAMENA Council represented SAMENA Council, while chairing the 6th CRO Meeting said that "It is up to us, the private sector, to propose solutions for moving forward on areas where regulatory authorities' help and interest are needed by us. On the other hand, the authorities should let the private sector understand of the new expectations they have of the private sector. CRO's new value lies in its capability to catalyze conversations with regulatory authorities, and thus more private-sector entities ought to take part in proposing brand-new ways to move forward and to mutually identify fast wins."

Commenting on the overall conversation and the spirit of the Symposium, Mr. BA stated that "Our discussions with regulatory authorities in GSR-16 expose that they think about operators' successes important to their own. We feel it is important to comprehend that working closely with regulatory authorities is a source of opportunities and not threats, and that regulators are ready to work out more noticeable engagement with the private sector to accomplish common sectoral and cross-sectoral development goals. SAMENA Council deems it both its responsibility and success as a private-sector representative body to emphasize on the significance of this observation, which can break barriers between the public and the private sectors. We also believe that the ITU too is doing very well to support and encourage the private sector's participation in Administration-level decision making."