African Ministers responsible for telecommunications, information and communication technologies and the digital economy have opened the Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Conference, known as CPL-26, is taking place today and tomorrow, 23–24 July 2026. It brings governments together to decide how the African Telecommunications Union will be governed, financed and led during its next four-year cycle, and how its work will respond to the technological and connectivity priorities of African countries. The Conference will also elect the Secretary General and members of the ATU Administrative Council for the next cycle.
Ministers will further consider Africa’s preparations for the 2026 Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union, where countries will decide the future direction of the global telecommunications body. The Abuja discussions are expected to strengthen the common African positions to be presented in Doha later this year when the ITU meeting begins.
ATU, the African Union’s specialised agency for ICTs, convenes the Conference of Plenipotentiaries every four years as its highest decision-making forum.
