DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwire - January 21, 2008) - At a meeting held today with
Mohammad Al Gergawi, minister of state for Cabinet Affairs, Ahmad Bin
Bayat, chairman of Tecom, and Osman Sultan, chief executive officer of du,
John Chambers, Cisco® chairman and chief executive officer, announced a
plan to invest up to AED 5.8 billion (USD $1.59 billion) on information and
communications technology (ICT) in the United Arab Emirates over the next
five years. The investment intends to support the 2015 vision of His
Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime
minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, to fuel the nation's growth and
development plans.
Paul Mountford, president, Emerging Markets, Cisco, said: "This investment
demonstrates our continued, long-term commitment to the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). The vision of the country's leadership has allowed it to
transition quickly to a 'connected' world. We look forward to continued
collaboration working closely with the government to help support and
realize the nation's ambitious development and growth vision."
As part of this investment, which is expected to create up to 650 new jobs
at Cisco by December 2010, Cisco will open a new regional headquarters
office in Dubai in April 2008. The regional office will host one of Cisco's
most advanced customer briefing centers allowing Cisco to showcase the
latest innovations in Internet Protocol (IP) networking technology, such as
Cisco TelePresence. The company will also open an office in Abu Dhabi in
June 2008 to serve the growing customer base in the capital.
The new regional headquarters will continue to deliver Cisco connected real
estate solutions serving customers across Emerging Markets. Conceived and
developed out of Cisco's Dubai office, the operations will draw on customer
experiences in the region to help support continued solutions developed
collaboratively at a global level.
Mountford concluded: "Unburdened by legacy technology, the UAE is able to
deploy the most advanced IP solutions, placing the country at the forefront
of the Internet economy. This investment plan builds on Cisco's 15-year
history in the region and demonstrates our commitment to the future of the
country. It also firmly establishes the UAE as a center for innovation and
not just a user of technology."
Other investments include:
-- Expansion of Cisco Networking Academies to further develop an educated
local pool of talent that can build and manage sustained networks in the
future. Cisco currently operates 39 Academies in the UAE.
-- Cisco's sponsorship of the Dubai School of Government research
-- Cisco Systems Capital Corporation intends to fund up to $400 million
in the UAE over a five-year period through third-party banking partners and
through the potential establishment of a financial services company in
Dubai. The funding may include inventory financing for Cisco's channel
partners in the UAE as well as potentially financing the acquisition of
Cisco equipment, software and services by Cisco's end-user customers.
About Cisco Systems
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how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco
can be found at
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http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in the Middle East is supplied
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Systems, Inc.
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Cisco
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Cisco
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