Microsoft in Bahrain increases commitment to the Kingdom and its people

Located in the Seef District, the new office was inaugurated by H.E. Ali Saleh Al Saleh, The Minister of Commerce.

At a press conference announcing the dual occasion, Samir Benmakhlouf, Country Manager for Microsoft in Bahrain, said: "We are pleased to announce the opening of our new offices in Bahrain today, when we are also celebrating the successful tenure of two years in the Kingdom. Microsoft is strongly committed to growth and development of the IT industry in the Kingdom and the expansion of Microsoft operations in Bahrain is evidence to this commitment."

In the last two years, Microsoft has grown from strength to strength in all aspects of operations and functionality. Along with this significant development, Microsoft has contributed to the ICT infrastructure of the Kingdom on all levels.

"During the last two years we have formed strong bonds with the Government and people of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Our initiatives on e-Government highlight our role in the advancement of the Kingdom. We also work very closely with other business sectors like Finance, Telecommunications and ICT as we remain committed to our goal to empower individuals and businesses to realize their full potential through the use of technology," Benmakhlouf added.

Over the last two years, Microsoft has worked on a number of initiatives with the Government sector in Bahrain on projects that cover education, e-Commerce and community development. With the Ministry of Commerce, for example, the company is playing a major role in supporting the e-Commerce services to businesses and investors.

In January 2003, Bahraini Telecommunications Company (Batelco) entered into an agreement with Microsoft to develop a portfolio of Internet and mobile related Web-services that will benefit consumers, private companies, and government agencies. This ground breaking agreement allows Batelco subscribers to stay connected with their MSN friends, pick up their e-mails from Hotmail and access MSN chat on their mobile handsets.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs also joined hands with Microsoft on the Career Connection program that was a part of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential global initiative, and focuses on helping unemployed Bahraini university graduates in Bahrain to find new job opportunities by developing their IT skills. Two hundred unemployed youngsters are being trained through this initiative resulting in increased job opportunities for them in the Kingdom.

In June this year, Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Education, under Microsoft's Partners in Learning (PiL) initiative. As per the MoU, Microsoft will provide improved Information Communication Technology (ICT) education to Bahraini schools by introducing a number of different programs that will develop IT education in K-12 schools, help provide cost effective software and provide learning resources for educational communities throughout the Kingdom.

Microsoft has also signed an MoU with the University of Bahrain (UOB) to work closely on key projects that support the 'Connected Learning Community' and touch Bahraini students, teachers and the general community. As part of the MOU, Microsoft and the University will work on building a community portal that links students, teachers and parents to a rich pool of educational and learning resources. Microsoft is also conducting training sessions for teachers in Bahrain, helping drive the use of technology in the classroom education process.

Ministry of Education and Microsoft also exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) supporting a collaboration between Microsoft and the Ministry of Education with particular focus on the training of 1,000 teachers in the use of the latest technologies. This memorandum gave significant support to the Government of Bahrain's Schools of the Future initiative launched by H.M. King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, whereby the training empowered teachers with working knowledge of the latest IT tools to ensure increased and open communication with the Ministry and between schools, students and the wider community.

Benmakhlouf explained: "We at Microsoft work towards transferring knowledge and 'know how' to Bahrainis, along the path from school to university, in order to help them get them well-equipped for the digital age. While doing this, we continue to work with other business sectors to advance the ICT industry in the Kingdom."