This recent announcement was made during a press conference held on Tuesday, September 9th at King Hussein Business Park. The conference was attended by His Excellency the Minister of ICT; Dr. Azzam Sleit, Chairman of Int@j; Mr. Jawad Abbassi, and the Forum’s Head of Committee and Board Member at int@j; H.E. Marwan Juma’a, and CEO of Int@j; Mr. Abed Shamlawi. The three telecommunications companies, being the “Telecom Partners” of the Forum, were present at the main panel represented by the CEO of Umniah; Mr. Ihab Hinnawi, the CEO of Zain Jordan; Mr. Ahmad Hanandeh, and the CEO of Orange; Mr. Jean Francois Thomas, along with Dr. Wissam Rabadi; The Chief of Party on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Jordan Competitiveness Program, being the Forum’s supporter.

The press conference highlighted the forum’s main theme titled “MENA ICT Forum 2014: Disruptive Technologies,” which are Technology advances that will improve life, business, and economy, and how they have the potential to alter the way people live and work, and rearrange value pools. It is therefore critical that business and policy leaders understand which technologies will matter to them and prepare accordingly.

From his end, His Excellency the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Dr. Azzam Sleit emphasized the importance of the MENA ICT Forum 2014 as it contributes to the development of the local and regional ICT sector. He went on to emphasize the Ministry’s continued support for the MENA ICT Forum, which is in line with His Majesty King Abdullah II’s vision of establishing Jordan as a regional hub and boosting global presence. His Excellency later thanked Jordan’s three leading telecommunications companies for sponsoring the forum as it reflects the true meaning of cooperation between the public and private sector.

Mr. Jawad Abbassi, the Chairman of Int@j, commented during the press conference saying: “It is our great pleasure to announce the upcoming date of the MENA ICT Forum as we believe it will add to the success of previously held forums. I would like to thank Umniah, Zain, and Orange for their collaborations in being part of this year’s MENA ICT Forum. The Forum encourages new partnerships between industry leaders in the public and private sector on both a local and regional level. The forum plays a pivotal role in helping the regional ICT player realize its true potential; effectively addresses global and regional business concerns; garners new industry investments and identifies opportunities based on regional and global trends.”

The Forum has taken a new direction addressing industry concerns like current SME developments; facilitating opportunities to establish partnerships with global stakeholders as well as hosting activities that coincide with the Forum such as the Entrepreneurship Café by Oasis500, App Challenge, Games Summit, Catalyzing Conversations, Mix n’ Mentor, and Amman TT Forum Edition, hence this year Forum will be highlighting the ecosystem and its development.

The press conference was concluded with a question-and-answer session, responding to all inquiries as well as highlighting its expected favorable impact on the ICT sector. Prior to the official launch of the Forum, media representatives will be invited to another press conference announcing additional details, keynote speakers as well as the Forum’s official sponsors.