ISLAMABAD - Bangladesh has been elected to the prestigious International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the term 2010-2014, held on 11 October in Guadalajara, Mexico during the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, Bangladesh High Commission here stated on Wednesday. Bangladesh secured sixth position among the 17 candidates competing for 13 seats in the Asian Group of the ITU Council. Bangladesh with 123 votes has secured higher votes than giant telecommunication players from Asia including Thailand Australia, India, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Philippines. The other candidates who were elected from the Asian Region are Indonesia, China, Japan, Malaysia and Republic of Korea. This is the first time that Bangladesh has contested for a seat on the 46-member ITU Council, the principal global regulating telecommunication policies at the national and international levels, a statement issued by the BHC Islamabad mentioned. Securing a seat on the ITU Council would afford Bangladesh the opportunity to influence global telecommunication policies and priorities in favour of developing countries with limited resources to advance their ICT programmes. It would also be a milestone achievement in accelerating the realization of the present Governments 'Digital Bangladesh ' programme on using ICT as a tool for poverty alleviation towards a 'Vision 2021, the statement added.