Cisco is working with the Bahrain government to further establish its presence in the kingdom and to make it the IT hub of the Middle East.

Under an agreement worth millions of dollars with the government, the company plans to open an office in Bahrain, recruit staff and establish an Internet data centre which will make it the company's regional centre from where it will provide support for its growing customer base across the Middle East, said a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

Cisco emerging markets president Paul Mountford said the company would be working closely with the government of Bahrain to define strategic information and communications technology initiatives that will help advance Bahrain's global competitiveness.

'Bahrain's progressive regulatory environment has fuelled the growth of vital economic sectors,' he said.

'Cisco is building on this platform by establishing a strong presence to work closely with government leaders to strengthen the country's competitive position in the global economy and ensure its success in going forward.'

He added that Cisco would also be launching initiatives and further accelerating the deployment of the Cisco Networking Academy. Currently Cisco has 10 networking academies in Bahrain with 350 active students.

'These initiatives will strengthen our co-operation with global technology providers through a strong local presence to grow the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Bahrain and will help pave the way to attract direct foreign investment, a long standing strategic objective of the government,' said Cabinet Affairs Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatala Al Khalifa.

'Such co-operation between the government of Bahrain and Cisco is essential to building the necessary capacity in the kingdom's IT market and the modernisation of government operations to enhance services,' he said.

'Our agreement works first and foremost to serve society at large and the Bahraini people,' said eGovernment Authority chief executive officer Mohammed Al Qaed.

'The agreement comes as part of the strategic framework that the eGovernment Authority has created to expand its operations and enter into long-term partnerships.

'This will help fulfil its overall aim to improve the eGovernment service and reach its customers,' he said.

In a series of upcoming workshops, Cisco will collaborate with the eGovernment Authority to provide its perspective on the various facets of eGovernment that have the potential to help the country to use ICT to provide enhanced public services to citizens.

'This is a significant milestone for Cisco in the Gulf region and demonstrates our continued efforts in helping government leaders define ICT blueprints for their countries,' added Cisco Gulf North general manager Tarek Ghoul. - TradeArabia News Service