The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Headquarters in Geneva on March 24 with the participation of the official delegation of the United Arab Emirates, headed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw spending on telecommunications and information technology services in 2017 reaching more than 146 billion Saudi riyals ($36 billion), according to the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC). The revenues from telecommunications services amounted to about 70 billion riyals in 2017.
Egypt hosted the 11th Arab Robotics Championship from March 23-26, dubbed one of the most powerful competitions in the Arab world in the field of robotics. The event, hosted in Sharm El Sheikh, was inaugurated by Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser ElKady and the Governor of South Sinai Khaled Fouda.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has joined the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a partner. DEWA is the first government utility to join the San Francisco-based center, which includes international organizations such as Microsoft, SAP, and ABB. This is part of DEWA’s efforts to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and develop disruptive technologies in power and water.
Alphabet-owned YouTube announced that Dubai will host the Middle East and North Africa's first YouTube Space. Dubai is the 10th major city in the world to host a YouTube Space after London, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Mumbai, Paris, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto.
In the framework of the Mobile World Congress 2018, TELUS organized an exclusive breakfast briefing in collaboration with STL Partners, on February 27th, 2018, to discuss the role of telcos in the healthcare sector and highlight TELUS's journey in this regard.
Ciena Corporation, a leading US-based global supplier of telecommunications networking equipment, software and services showcased its latest range of solutions and products at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. The company has enjoyed phenomenal success since the diversification of its business and as a result has recorded an increase in growth in several of its key markets globally.
The former president and CEO of Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES has been appointed chief executive officer of UAE cyber-security firm DarkMatter. Karim Sabbagh will become CEO of DarkMatter starting in April, while the company's founder, Faisal Al Bannai, will assume the role of Managing Director, and will continue to lead its strategic direction and oversight.
The Minister of Communications and Information Technology in Egypt, H.E. Yasser ElKady, received the German Ambassador to Egypt Julius Luy on March 15, where they discussed enhancing cooperation between the two countries in the ICT field, especially in the projects of digital transformation, smart cities, electronics manufacturing and technological innovation.
The Middle East and North Africa IT spending are projected to reach $155 billion in 2018, a 3.4 percent increase from 2017, research firm Gartner predicts. Speaking at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo in Dubai on March 5, Smart Dubai's Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr highlighted the challenges in making confident decisions in an "increasingly indispensable" and disruptive ICT sector.
