Dhaka, Oct 12 (UNB) - Bangladesh was Tuesday elected a council member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for a four-year term by a big margin of votes.

ITU is the apex body of global telecommunication sector and a UN agency which regulates information and communication technology.

Officials said Bangladesh bagged 123 votes and achieved the 6th position among the 13 seats reserved for Asia-Australia region in the election held in Mexico. A total of 161 member countries out of the 192-member ITU voted for electing the council members.

Seventeen countries contested for 13 seats of the Asia-Australia region, said a PID handout.

Post and Telecommunications Minister Raziuddin Ahmed Raju led the Bangladesh delegation to take part in the election campaign.

The delegation also included chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry Hasanul Huq Inu, Secretary Sunil Kanti Bose, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Zia Ahmed and members of the parliamentary committee.

Minister Raziuddin Raju, who is in Mexico, in his reaction over phone said: “It’s a great victory for Bangladesh…it’ll help implement the vision of building digital Bangladesh.”

Votes bagged by other elected countries: Indonesia - 135, China - 134, Japan - 133, Malaysia - 127, Korea Republic - 125, Thailand - 121, Australia - 119, United Arab Emirates - 114, Kwuiat - 108, Saudi Arabia - 105 and Philippines - 97 votes.

The four other contestants in the election - Pakistan - 93, Sri Lanka - 79, Lebanon - 75 and Syria - 63 votes could not qualify for the membership.