Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are expected to play an integral role in the development of the Arab world’s Information Technology (IT) future, asserted Gilbert Lacroix, Intel general manager for the Middle East and North Africa.
Interviewed by Albawaba.com correspondent on the sidelines of Amman’s ITC Forum, Lacroix stated that the global IT industry is currently in a state of recession. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that these difficulties are bound to end. “As any international industry, the IT industry is vulnerable to fluctuations in global markets and politics.”
“What we know for sure is that the IT industry is currently witnessing recession,” Intel chief stated, “but there is always an end to every state of recession. Nobody knows when this will end but it will happen one day.”
According to the executive, the world economy is still vital. While some regions experience setbacks in commercial IT activities, other regions quickly move in to compensate for these difficulties.
“People around the world still buy IT products and there are areas in the world where IT spending is actually on the rise. This means that the sector’s profitability is still high, especially in emerging markets,” said Lacroix.
“I believe the Middle East and Arab countries constitute emerging markets. It is apparent that rising oil prices play an important role in promoting the regional IT industry, as more capital is injected into Arab economies and that, in turn, will be translated into more investments in IT.”
“In those countries where there is little or no oil, national commitment to the penetration of IT is stronger, because they realized the importance of technology for their economic development and overall conditions,” he added.
Such are Jordan and the UAE, Lacroix believes—the region’s most prominent states in terms of IT penetration . Both, he expects, could play an integral role in advancing the sector throughout the Arab world. This is due to the fact that these two nations build upon different economic bases, thus they are expected to complete rather than compete with each other.
“We see two different types of economy in these two countries. Dubai has traditionally been a trade zone and has in recent times grown into a commercial center. The change is in style,” said Lacroix, “While Dubai used to be the crossroads between Asia and Europe, it now plays the same role, yet armed with modern technology in an e-economy environment.”
However, the Intel executive noted that Dubai’s population is relatively small and it will need to import manpower to be able to continue playing a vital economic role. Jordan, he said, has a bigger population with a good level of education, a factor considered central to a country’s IT development.
He concluded the comparison by saying that these variations should constitute a basis for cooperation between Jordan and Dubai—with the latter’s service-based economy providing the commercial environment, and former providing qualified manpower. By combining the strengths of both nations, not only will they benefit the Jordan and the UAE, but also the entire Arab world.
Commenting on the level of internet penetration in the region, "There are two main barriers to the spread of the internet in the Arab world. The first is linked to the lack of Arabic content, as the great majority of the region’s population does not know English. Even those who are English-literate prefer to access Arabic sites because they want to know what goes on around them,” said Lacroix.
He added, “Arabic content should be provided by the region’s home-grown writer’s, rather than by Americans or Europeans.” said Lacroix. “With 300 million people in the Arab World who share the same language and culture, political barriers to commerce and regional cooperation should be lifted in order to enable the formation of a strong unified market.”
Commenting on the recent visit of Intel CEO Craig Barrett to Jordan, Lacroix said, “the reason behind the visit was his wish to work with countries seeking to increase the penetration of IT among their population in response to their leaders’ vision. King Abdulla II is the best example of such leaders who are committed to their vision in this perspective.”
He added that Barrett visited Jordan last year and met the king to discuss Jordan’s plans in the IT field. The King invited him to visit Jordan again this year so that he could see what has been accomplished.
When Barrett came to Jordan the next year, he was astonished with the progress achieved in the field of IT, said Lacroix, who also could not hide his admiration saying, “when you compare Jordan now and one year back, you can say the accomplishment has been great but there is still a lot to do.”
The senior Intel executive said that his company plans to continue expanding its programs and projects in the region. “We will continue investing in the region and help states in implementing their strategies aiming at developing their e-readiness.
Cooperation will not be limited to the public sector only but also will include the private sector,” said Lacroix, concluding that e-readiness “requires in addition to leaders who have vision a balanced collaboration between both the public and private sectors as is the case in Jordan.
US-based Intel corporation is committed to the spread of internet in the region. The company has recently committed to educating teachers in Jordan and invests in Middle East portals. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
