Bahrain private sector's participation in Gitex Technology Week in Dubai has increased nearly four times in the last few years, as Bahraini Information Technology companies continue to expand.

The private sector and governmental bodies from Bahrain put up a show of strength, as one of the biggest technology events opened yesterday at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in the UAE.

Dubai Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum inaugurated the exhibition, which runs until Thursday.

Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) information and communications technology committee vice-president Ahmed Al Hujairi said the Bahrain Pavilion has grown from eight companies to 32. Given the size of Bahrain, it is a big impact.

"When we started six years ago, Bahrain's private sector's participation in such events was quite limited."

The Bahrain private sector contributed to 90 per cent of the country's contingent at the expo, said e-Government Authority marketing and awareness director Ziad Asfour.

"The participation of the e-Government and the Economic Development Board is 10pc while 90pc is from the private sector," he told the GDN.

"As Bahrain's e-Government Authority, we believe we need to give the private sector a chance to participate and showcase what the country has to offer.

"We've managed to position ourself in the GCC region and we're competing in the telecommunications field."

Plans are underway to support the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of the authority's five-year strategy.

"We have launched an e-Government strategy for 2012 to 2016," said Asfour. "We're targeting the private sector in our next phase.

"This is part of our support for the SMEs. We also want to encourage innovation and enhance our services," he added.

Gitex provided a platform for companies to communicate and realise synergies amongst themselves, remarked Bahrain ICT Suppliers Trade Association president Ubaydli Ubaydli.

The Bahraini Pavilion was represented by public and private sector organisations such as the e-Government Authority, Economic Development Board, the regional centre of ICT, Bahrain ICT Supplies Trade Association, Bahrain Investors Centre and a number of entities in the industry.

The pavilion was organised by Future Gulf Business in partnership with LMRA and Tamkeen, who supported the participants of private companies including Al Nadeem IT, Almoayyed Computers, Hitech, Microsoft, Life Telecommunications, Ascentech Telecom, Icol Plus, Bin Hindy Informatics, Sky and Land Technologies and Communications, AFNO Middle East, Al Amthal Consulting and Programming, Computer World, Digital Middle East, Denvert Business Solutions, Etisalcom, Global ETS, Andrasistemas, Information Village, Uni-Data, Kanoo Consulting Services, Kanoo Information Technology, Mela Bahrain, New Horizon, Open Source Technology, Zayani Computer Systems, Mantech Computer Services, Yokogawa Middle East, and ThinkSmart for Training and Development.

This year, Gitex attracted more than 138,000 ICT experts from 144 countries, along with the participation of 77 international companies and 18,000 decision-makers.

Gitex is one of the largest industry events in the field of information and communications technology at the world level.

It is also a notable platform that provides the latest innovations in the technology sector - attracting the most prestigious names in the sector. -TradeArabia News Service