Internet telephony firm Skype is close to signing partnerships with Middle East telecom carriers as the lure of a young population offsets operating restrictions in some countries, according to a senior official.

Skype's head of Middle East and Africa, Rouzbeh Pasha, said the presence of a large number of expatriates also made the Middle East an attractive market.   

"We are in discussions with potential partners in the region," he said in an interview.

"The Middle East and Africa is emerging as a commerce and business hub, and we think at the bottom of that lies communication. We are putting a lot of effort into the region."    

Pasha said the Luxembourg-based firm also planned to open an office in the Middle East, although he did not specify a location.

Telecoms operators view Skype, which routes calls over the Internet to reduce fees to consumers, as a threat to their core telephone call business. But Pasha said pairing up with Skype would give traditional telecom players access to Skype's users.

The firm, which has more than 500 million users worldwide,  signed up with its first traditional telecom operator, Hutchison Telecom, in 2006.   

"For them, it was a bit of a leap of faith, as Skype was still a start-up," Pasha said. "But Hutchison recognized that Skype is an application that drives users, and one that makes users subscribe to additional services.

"That's the benefit for operators. Users sign up for a fairly extensive data package, because it's worth it (to have Skype), rather than pay for individual calls."    

Middle East telecom operators are especially attractive for the firm, given their presence in several countries, he added.   

Skype has expanded its popular telephony application beyond desktop computers in a venture with Verizon Wireless that will see the No.1 US carrier carry the application on mobile phones it sells.

But there are headwinds, with access to Skype in the Gulf region restricted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Oman.   

Last month, Egypt banned international calls made through mobile Internet connections, and this came after the UAE said it would not give Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) licences to international companies such as Skype. - Reuters