Doha to host ITU Connect Arab Summit
Event will focus on opportunities in Middle East’s booming ICT markets
Geneva, 27 October 2011 – On the occasion of ITU Telecom World 2011 (Geneva Palexpo, 24-27 October), ITU Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré and Dr Hessa Al-Jaber, Secretary General of ictQATAR, have signed a Host Country Agreement that will pave the way for the organization of the ITU Connect Arab Summit.
Scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar from 5-7 March, 2012, the ITU Connect Arab Summit is being organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with the League of Arab States. It will be hosted by the State of Qatar, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar.
The summit will bring together all countries from the Arabic speaking world, who will represented by Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Heads of Regulatory Authorities, CEOs and other senior leaders from industry, regional and international organizations.
“By bringing together key global and regional players in the sector, the ITU Connect Arab Summit aims to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources critical for the continued stimulation of growth in information and communication technologies (ICTs),” said Dr Touré. “We consider ICTs as the engine for sustained and future economic prosperity and sustainable development in the region” added Dr Hessa Al-Jaber, “and we are determined and confident that the TU Connect Arab Summit will play a key role in supporting this regional priority”.
The Connect Arab Summit will be the third in the series of high-level regional ITU Connect events. Previous summits included ITU Connect Africa which was held in Kigali, Rwanda in 2007 and ITU Connect CIS, covering the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was held in Belarus in 2009.
For more information, please contact:
Paul Conneally
Head, Communications and Partnership Promotion, ITU
+41 79 592 5668
paul.conneally@itu.int
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
+41 79 599 1439
sarah.parkes@itu.int
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