The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) announced a new Joint Task Force to co-ordinate international standardisation for smart cities in line with the sustainable development goal 11 (SDG11) 'Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable'. The Joint Task Force will lead a comprehensive dialogue by engaging relevant stakeholders in identifying standardisation solutions for smart cities. 'Digital transformation is accelerating, industries are converging, and we see an associated convergence in the responsibilities of different regulators -we see why the SDGs emphasise the importance of new partnerships. How city-systems interact, how we interact with these systems, and how we interact with each other are questions of key importance to COVID-19 response and recovery, but also key importance to our ability to contend with challenges of all kinds', noted ITU Director of Telecommunication Standardization Bureau Chaesub Lee.