Bahrain to host Global ICT Summit 2005

Being held under the patronage of H.E. Ali Saleh bin Saleh, the Honorable Minister of Commerce, Kingdom of Bahrain, this highly prestigious international event, which will take place in Bahrain - the region's pre-eminent IT centre - on 14-18 May 2005 is well-poised to attract the largest gathering of Information Communications Technology leaders ever to come together in the region.

In May 2004, the event was held in Hong Kong and in 2005 the event is being brought to Bahrain. The 2006 event is likely to be held in Brazil. The Global ICT Summit Bahrain 2005, being dubbed as the 'Olympics of IT', will be run concurrently alongside the well-established FutureIT Conference and Exhibition. The Global ICT Summit will extend the reach of FutureIT and promises to propel the Kingdom of Bahrain on the international IT map. According to the organisers, early response leading up to the formal launch has been exceptional. This reflects the strong interest being shown in the IT and Communications sectors by international leaders and vendors.

Along-side FutureIT, the Global ICT Summit will be held at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre - the event's state-of-the-art venue. Already the events are attracting leading, international providers of IT systems, software and services technologies across Europe, North America and Asia.

Further, strong participation is expected from senior IT buyers and decision-makers from many countries and many large organizations have shown keen interest in their participation.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, HE Ali Saleh Bin Saleh, the Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Bahrain says, 'Bahrain serves as a particularly strategic location for the gathering, as the leading country in the region to have strategically addressed the digital divide and also the wise leadership to have identified IT as a key enabler in the economic growth of the country. I am delighted to be the patron of such an exciting and innovative event aimed at meeting the highly specialized technology needs of the region's advanced and fast growing business sector. Bahrain is always keen to support events that can provide the resources and cutting-edge solutions for enhancing efficiency and allowing for the further development of new products, services and innovations and consequently spur economic activity across all industries.'

Further commenting on the event, Ahmed Al Hujairy, Chairman of the Bahrain Internet Society, the co-sponsors of the event, said 'Global ICT Summit Bahrain 2005 is aimed at complementing the already successful FutureIT Conference & Exhibition. Global ICT Summit will further address best-practices in the fields of e-Government, e-Business, eCommerce, Wireless and other emerging technologies. Delegates and exhibitors will be well-served to attend this highly important and a truly global event.'
Waleed Kanoo, the CEO of Creative Knowledge, the main organizer of the event said, 'This event, which is aimed at senior to middle level executives and IT decision-makers drawn from Government ministries and agencies, banking, insurance, manufacturing and other economic segments, covers a broad and diverse range of IT best-practices, case-studies and real-life stories relating to IT Security, CRM, e-banking, e-Government, e-Citizen and other emerging ICT issues.The quality of partners and sponsors will ensure the resounding success of FutureIT and Global ICT. Already IProA of Hong Kong has announced their support to the event. In the coming weeks we will be announcing many creative partnerships and top-notch sponsors to the event. We also are grateful to the Ministry of Commerce for their unflinching support, encouragement and co-operation. Furthermore, it is in line with Ministry of Commerce's broader strategy to combine local contacts with international expertise in the organization of new and innovative trade shows that will transform into further rapid development of commerce, industry and trade. '