Jordan announces the launch of the MENA ICT Forum 2010

Under the Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Information Technology Association of Jordan (int@j) in partnership with the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) announced the launch of the Middle East and North Africa Information and Communications Technology Forum – MENA ICT Forum 2010.

Throughout the last decade of His Majesty King Abdullah II’s guidance and leadership, Jordan has rapidly risen as a regional hub for ICT in the region. Under the patronage of HM King Abdullah II, the first Jordan ICT gathering was held at the Dead Sea in March of 2000 with the aim of capitalizing on Jordan’s main asset, the human capital, to develop a vibrant ICT sector in Jordan.

Today, a strong private sector and a world-class infrastructure are enabling the development of a competitive Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in Jordan for the benefit of government, businesses, and citizens. Starting with Jordan’s ICT Action Plan in 2000, the REACH Initiative has set key milestones for Jordan’s transformation into a knowledge based economy and society as well as a strong private ICT Sector.

In response to the REACH initiative, both the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology [MoICT] and the Information Technology Association of Jordan [int@j] were created as public and private ICT sector leaders’ representatives respectively, and a strong ICT industry contributing more than 14% to the GDP has been created with more than 80,000 employment opportunities.

Widely considered one of the Region’s foremost Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Information and Communications Technology Enabled Services (ICTES) industry events, the 2010 Forum will present over 70 distinguished global and regional speakers from leading private and public ICT and ICTES entities, who will convene in Amman to deliberate the MENA regions most current and pressing ICT and ICTES concerns.

H.E. Marwan Juma, Minister of ICT commented:
“We’ve come a long way since we started, and the ICT Sector delivered on its promises made and Jordanian ICT products and services are fueling the development locally, regionally, and internationally.”

Elaborating on the MENA ICT Forum 2010 and its underlying connotations, Mr. Aiman Mazahreh, Chairman of int@j said: “The MENA ICT Forum 2010 is the key event for industry leaders to convene, collaborate and identify areas for development and advancement. Over the next few days, we will witness defining moments for the industry in our region which will crystallize regional opportunities that will shape the future for ICT and ICTES.”

The ICT Sector is one of the main niches in Jordan, stakeholders have worked hand in hand to develop policy and legislation within the sector, implement capacity building programs, carry out marketing and promotion activities locally, regionally, and internationally, and provide ICT Sector members with value-added services to help them grow and prosper.

The Forum aims not only at sharing the collective knowledge and experience of global and regional experts and key industry players, but also serve as a venue through which industry players can meet to workout productive partnerships that will lead to further growth, ensuring that the Region is in-line with strategic direction of the global ICT industry.

More importantly, the Forum will build on the already existing commitments of authorities in the Region to enable their citizens and establishments to compete in national, regional, and global markets, simply because productivity increases through better access and use of information.