Nokia opens new hub in Beirut

The office is the first for Beirut and Lebanon and will also be critical in Nokia's ongoing efforts to build presence in the area and in strengthening relationships with governments and key industry players.

The office will play an important role in serving Nokia's rapidly expanding consumer base in the market by giving consumers access to Nokia's latest mobile telecommunications technologies and to the expertise that supports them.

Nokia recognises the area's ever-changing telecommunication environment, driven by increased technological complexity, rapid subscriber growth, convergence, and the consequent need by both network operators and consumers for greater levels of solution customisation and local support as reasons for the creation of an additional hub and corporate office.

"It is, yet again, exciting times for Nokia in the Middle East and Africa area," said Timo Toikkanen, Senior Vice President, Customer and Market Operations, Middle East and Africa, Nokia. "The mobile telecommunications industry is currently witnessing tremendous growth and Nokia is at the forefront of this growth. Our announcement today is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to our large consumer base in Middle East and Africa in general, and the Levant in particular."

"The attributes of Nokia's leadership position are mirrored in our comprehensive and ever-growing product portfolio, our extensive research and development, and our ability to move rapidly to meet consumer demands," Toikkanen continued. "Moreover, Nokia also has a strong sense of corporate social responsibility and we strive to be a good corporate citizen by contributing to societies we operate in."

"The mobile subscriber growth rate in the Middle East and Africa is one of the highest in the world. There are currently 2.2 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide and we expect that by 2008 this number will reach 3 billion, with much of that growth happening in the Middle East and Africa area,"

commented Walid Moneimne, Senior Vice President for Central Europe Middle East and Africa, Networks, Nokia.

"Nokia Networks has firm presence and a strong foothold in Middle East and Africa," added Moneimne. "We will continue to work closely with our customers, operators, governments and regulators to ensure that we continue to deliver cutting-edge technology and state-of-the-art products and services."

The addition of the Beirut office to the many offices that the company has set up recently across Middle East and Africa reflects the company's commitment to getting closer and closer to its consumers, distributors and operators.