During the 30th meeting of the Arab League Permanent Committee for Telecommunications and Information in Abu Dhabi on January 8-9, 2012, H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Director General announced the agency's application for the .arab and .عرب TLDs with [[ICANN]].<ref>[http://www.tra.gov.ae/news370.php The TRA Hosted the Arab League Permanent Committee for Telecommunications and Information Meeting in Abu Dhabi]</ref> The TRA's initiative is supported by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and offered assistance in the application process and to act as "temporary operational entity" in case the league needs more time in establishing an effective and efficient TLD management team. <ref>[http://css.escwa.org.lb/ICTD/1176/Obiso_establishmentofArabregistry.pdf ITU support for The Creation of “.ARAB” Internet Top Level Domain]</ref>