November 5, 2009
Ramallah – West Bank – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion (EDIP) project, supported the annual Palestinian Technology Week, ExpoTech, November 1-5, in Ramallah and via live teleconference in Gaza City. More than 30,000 Palestinian information and communication technology (ICT) experts, entrepreneurs, other business and local government leaders, and representatives from international companies attended the week-long event. Several diplomatic officials also attended, including U.S. Consul General Daniel Rubinstein.
This year ExpoTech was expanded to a full week of activities including: a conference, an exhibition, an entrepreneur’s forum, and multinational days. This year’s event tackled important ICT issues, including international impact on development of the Palestinian ICT sector, competing in global information technology (IT) outsourcing, building a knowledge-based economy, and the need of Palestinian firms to gain access to international markets to build relationships with key partners and investors.
USAID’s EDIP project also supported the Palestinian Information Technology Association (PITA) which conducted presentations at the conference and hosted multinational ICT companies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “EDIP supports PITA through an online marketing campaign that promotes the Palestinian ICT sector, including Palestinian expertise and manpower,” said Ihab Jabari, Director of EDIP’s ICT Development project.
ExpoTech, an annual event, supported by USAID since 2004, is part of the USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion (EDIP) project. EDIP is a three-year economic development assistance project dedicated to increasing opportunities for trade, employment, and investment throughout the West Bank and Gaza. The program aims to create interest among companies such as Google, Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft to invest in the critical ICT sector in Palestine. “We believe that ICT companies are the drivers for growth in other sectors of the Palestinian economy, such as the tourism and pharmaceutical industries,” said Ghassan Al-Jamal, Development Specialist at USAID’s Private Enterprise Office.
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