Jordan Times
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Cisco identified as key partner in Kingdom's ICT development plan
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — Cisco Systems Inc. on Monday announced it was ready to help the Ministry
of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) develop the infrastructure
and human capital necessary to make Jordan an ICT hub in the region.
The MoICT and Cisco signed an agreement yesterday that identifies Cisco as “a
key partner in the Kingdom's ICT development plan,” derived from His Majesty
King Abdullah's vision to make Jordan the centre for ICT in the region.
The agreement's objectives include building “sophisticated Jordanian capacity in
the areas of networking, technology management and technology services to
develop high-profile employable skills that can be leveraged regionally,”
according to Cisco.
Cisco President and CEO John Chambers, who is in the Kingdom on a several-day
visit to participate in the third Jordan ICT Forum in the Dead Sea, told The
Jordan Times that he expects the Kingdom's economic growth to outpace the
world's. The country would not only graduate professionals to lead the
development of the Kingdom and the region, but also to play a role in
international development.
“The level and complexity of our involvement with the Jordanian government is
not found anywhere else in the world,” Chambers said, adding that his company
chose the Kingdom because of its committed leadership and the dynamism of local
organisations and companies.
“No country in the world has done what Jordan did in such a short period of
time... Jordan is improving by using technology to implement strategies and to
achieve dreams,” Chambers told a meeting of local and regional press late
yesterday.
According to ICT Minister Fawaz Zu'bi, the country now is seeking to become “a
reservoir of talent for the entire region.
Also included in the three-year agreement is a commitment by Cisco to help the
Kingdom accelerate the construction of the infrastructure necessary to support
its education reform agenda.
“By building intellectual capacity through investment in training and a drive to
encourage technology adaptation, countries in the region will be able to use
network connectivity and Internet technology to power economic development,”
Chambers said.
Cisco is also one of the main global partners in the Jordan Education Initiative
(JEI), as it is behind the computerisation of the maths curriculum for grades
1-12 along with local company Rubicon.
According to Tae Yoo, vice president of Cisco corporate affairs, Chambers
spearheaded the JEI idea and provided substantial funding, technology and
resources.
“The personal involvement and support of His Majesty King Abdullah, John
Chambers, and leaders from the government bodies and global companies have
enabled us to move forward as quickly and successfully as we have,” said Yoo,
referring to the initiative.
Cisco TSO inaugurated at Estarta Solutions
Meanwhile, Chambers and Zu'bi inaugurated a Cisco Technical Support Organisation
(TSO) at Estarta Solutions a day earlier, designed to deliver specialised Cisco
technology support for organisations across the region.
The TSO will be staffed with qualified Jordanian Cisco engineers, and the
Estarta-Cisco team will be trained and managed by Cisco specialists.
Cisco customers in the Middle East will benefit from regional support as a range
of their technical requests will be routed from Cisco's TSO in Belgium to
Estarta's TSO in the Kingdom.