Abu-Ghazaleh addresses the opening session of the MENA ICT Week 2010

Manama, Bahrain ? 12 January 2010 - Union of Arab ICT Association (IJMA3) announced that Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chair of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development, will address the opening session for the events of the upcoming MENA ICT Week 2010, to be held January 26-28 in Bahrain.

The MENA ICT Week 2010 will be held under the patronage of H.E. Shaikh Ahmed Bin Atiyatalla Al Khalifa, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and in partnership with Bahrain Internet Society, IJMA3, US Commercial Service Gulf Future Business, Bahrain E-Government Authority, and ARISPA. It will under the theme ?Driving Economies for a Better Future.?

The US State Department Senior Advisor for Innovation, Mr. Alec Ross, is also going to participate in this event, according to the announcement.

The announcement expressed their pleasure with Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh?s participation and described him saying that his ?name has been synonymous with global ICT leadership for decades. He has been a pioneer in industry and international diplomacy. As the founder and Chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Company (TAGCO) and Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP), he quickly became known as the ?godfather of Arab accounting.?

?After a series of prestigious appointments, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon appointed Abu-Ghazaleh deputy chairman of the UN Global Compact in 2007, a leading initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies. Later than year, he was inducted into the IP Hall of Fame, thus joining the worlds most prominent figures in IP. Recently, Abu-Ghazaleh took over as Chair of the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development, a leading global initiative composed of leading representatives from the international public, private and civil society sectors,? the announcement added.

The Conference of the MENA ICT Week 2010 will host distinguished speakers, experts and guests both at regional and international levels. In addition, the event will host the Arab Golden Chip Awards that recognize Arabs who have contributed to the development of ICT in their countries and in the Arab region.

Union of Arab ICT Association
IJMA3, an alliance of Arab ICT organizations, was formed during the regional ICT conference held at the Dead Sea in Jordan in March 2004. Its members include the ICT associations of Algeria, Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Tunisia. As a uniting platform of the Arabic ICT private sector, IJMA3 is concerned with accelerating the process of development in the Arab countries through ICT.