Arab Societies of IT firms to give fillip to ICT sector

The formation of ‘Arab Union for Arab Societies of IT companies’ is expected to propel the ICT sector in Bahrain to new heights. 

A plan to form the Arab Union for Arab Societies of IT companies was announced yesterday at a press conference held at Gulf Hotel, Gulf Convention Centre. The initiative is expected to be a major boon for ICT companies in Bahrain. The union will be formed within the next three months and will help Bahraini ICT companies connect with other ICT companies in the Middle East. As of now, five Arab countries namely Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Lebanon are part of the soon to be formed union.

Addressing the media representatives present at the press conference, Arab Union for Arab Societies of IT companies Chairman Ubaydli Ubaydli said: “We believe that it is about time that a consolidated organisation addresses the needs of the ICT market. The uniqueness of this initiative is that it doesn’t only address the issue from a social angle. This is taking it from a business angle, ie, we want to make sure that impact of the establishment of the union is felt by the producers and the service providers in the IT market in the Arab world.”

“As far as Bahrain is concerned, this will open bigger markets for the Bahraini companies. We will make sure that Bahraini companies will get the help needed to access their counterparts in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait etc. This is the real objective behind the formation of this union. This will give Bahraini companies the opportunity to infiltrate the Middle East market. There are complaints from Bahrain that the Bahrain market is too small for them so we want to give them a wider scope to enter the other markets. In the Arab world, this will create a platform whereby Arab companies will operate and find synergies in order to compete in the international market,” he said. 

He noted that this would also help ICT sector of the Middle East compete with the other more developed regions. He added that the technology sector in Bahrain and GCC had been affected by the financial situation caused by the devaluation in oil prices. However, he claimed that the ICT market was strong enough to overcome the cash crunch.