SAMENA Telecommunications Council’s ‘Convergence to Jordan 2008’ has received a tremendous response from the regions top executives from the telecommunications industry’s who have confirmed their participation at the two day summit on November 3-4, 2008 at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea in Jordan.
This year’s edition is under the patronage of HE Eng. Basem Rousan, Minister of Information and Communications Technology of Jordan and among the high profile speakers are: HE Dr. Ahmad Hiasat, Chairman of the Board/CEO of The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission; Mr. Mickael Ghossein, CEO of Jordan Telecom Group; Eng. Saud Al Daweesh, STC President; Dr. Mohammed Al Wohaibi, Omantel CEO; Mr. Ross Cormack, Nawras CEO; Mr. Ahmed Bin Ali, Etisalat VP Corporate Communications; Mr. Tarek Al Bahri, du VP Fixed Access; Dr. Kamal Shehadi, Chairman & CEO of TRA Lebanon; Mr. Alex Shalaby, Chairman Mobinil – ORASCOM Group.
Among the highlights of the discussion include the impact of foreign direct investment activities in the region, in light of the changing landscape of the financial markets abroad; as well as key issues such as consolidations, acquisitions and mergers.
“The recent turn of events in the financial markets will be a topic of discussion, yet there is a consensus about the positive prospects of telecoms for the future. The mood and potential for telecoms growth remains upbeat, and the summit has been convened precisely to be a venue for sharing knowledge, insights, expertise and experience on how to realize the immense potential of the telecoms industry in the region,” said Thomas Wilson, CEO, SAMENA Telecommunications Council.
A much anticipated highlight is the staging of the SAMENA Telecom Awards, an inaugural edition of a comprehensive and competition recognition system that recognizes best practices in the telecoms industry in South Asia, Middle East and North Africa.
Convergence to Jordan 2008 is a key event in the telecoms industry in the region, and has gathered various stakeholders such as operators, regulators, vendors, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, educators, consultants and R&D experts. Supporting the event are Orange (previously Jordan Telecom group) as the diamond sponsor, Saudi Telecom Company as platinum sponsor, Teralight Ltd., Inmarsat, and Huawei Technologies as gold sponsors and PCCW Global and Andrew as silver sponsors
SAMENA Telecommunications Council has convened the event as part of its mandate to facilitate convergence, knowledge sharing and collaboration in the industry.
About SAMENA
SAMENA Telecommunications Council is a tri-regional, non-profit telecommunications association that embodies a community of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African telecoms operators, manufacturers, regulatory authorities, and academia. SAMENA aims to be the ultimate promoter of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in the SAMENA region that spans 25 countries, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
The Council is driven by telecoms issues that operators in South Asia, the Middle East, and in North Africa face, and is determined in providing its advocacy expertise to help aid the incubation of novel approaches and ideas that would provide better means for the expansion and utilization of telecommunications in the region.
Headquartered in Dubai, SAMENA is chaired by Dr. Mohammed Ali Al Wohaibi, Executive President, Omantel and is directed by Mr. Thomas W. Wilson, CEO, Teralight.
