From November 9 to 27, 2026, the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (PP-26), the ITU’s highest policy-making body, will take place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar.
The Vatican Delegation will participate in the Conference, led by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, as Head of Delegation. Maria Montserrat Alvarado, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, will also attend the second part of the Conference as Deputy Head of Delegation. She is currently accompanying Pope Leo XIV on his Apostolic Journey to South America.
Both will address the Conference during key sessions, while continuous technical representation will be ensured by the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems of the Governorate and the Technology Directorate of the Dicastery for Communication.
The Conference, which convenes every four years, is responsible for establishing the ITU’s overall policies, approving its strategic and financial plans, and electing its senior leadership and the members of its Council. The decisions adopted at the Conference will guide the ITU’s work over the following four years in the fields of telecommunications, radio spectrum management, networks, and artificial intelligence.
For a Member State, participation in an event of this importance provides an opportunity to contribute to collective decision-making, exercise its voting rights, and closely follow issues of particular relevance to its specific interests. The presence of the Vatican Delegation reflects its ongoing commitment to participating in international technological governance.
The Conference is hosted by the State of Qatar through its Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), which is responsible for regulating telecommunications, information technology systems, the postal sector, and access to digital media in Qatar.
