Jordan Times
Monday, October 25, 2004
Jordan becomes regional centre
for BearingPoint
By Rami Abdelrahman
AMMAN — Jordan will be the regional centre from which BearingPoint will provide
its consulting services for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a
senior company official said Sunday.
According to Thomas DeGarmo, vice president of BearingPoint's Emerging Markets
Group, Jordan's significance lies in the intellectual capacity and resources
that would enable his company to achieve its expansion plans in the region.
The government and US-based BearingPoint Inc., one of the world's largest
business consulting and systems integration firms, signed a Strategic Framework
Agreement on Thursday to promote economic stability and growth in Jordan through
strengthening the private sector as well as capacity building in the information
and communications technology (ICT) sector. Under the agreement, BearingPoint
would focus on capacity building in government and accelerate the implementation
of public sector reform.
As part of its plan, BearingPoint will establish a regional hub in Jordan to
serve as a “public sector reform centre of excellence” for the MENA region.
Moreover, BearingPoint will undertake to team with local firms in regional
projects with the goal of creating local ICT jobs and increasing regional ICT
exports from Jordan.
“BearingPoint has the requisite skills, expertise and knowledge to become one of
the strategic partners of the government of Jordan in assisting in the
implementation of the national economic growth agenda,” De Garmo indicated.
BearingPoint is currently working in Jordan, and is utilising local Jordanian
firms to support work in the Kingdom and in the region.
“We have selected Jordan as one of the top 10 countries identified in
BearingPoint's emerging markets global expansion, and are excited at the
opportunity that it presents,” De Garmo remarked.
Besides strategic agreements already signed with Microsoft and Cisco, former ICT
and Administrative Development Minister Fawaz Zu'bi described the partnership
with Bearing Point as “the third pillar in providing capacity development in the
much needed areas of management consulting and systems integration.”
“The government is intent on driving the reform required to achieve our national
vision.We are working to create a `model' of public service delivery that will
enable the public sector to better serve citizens, and in doing so, also serve
as a successful case study that could be implemented throughout the Middle East
and North Africa,” explained Zubi.