The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will serve as the Official Country Partner for GITEX Technology Week 2015.
The show, which is the largest technology event in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, is taking place from 18 to 22 October 2015 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and is set to attract more than 140,000 visitors, 20,000 C-level executives and over 3,500 exhibiting brands from 55 countries.
The partnership with Saudi Arabia serves to highlight how the kingdom’s ICT sector is growing significantly with the ITC market expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 percent to exceed US$36.7 billion (SAR138 billion) in 2017. Indeed, public sector investment in ICT will play a key role in Saudi Arabia’s nationwide digital transformation, with the kingdom’s public sector IT spending set to grow by 44 percent from 2014 to 2017, according to a report by IDC and Mobily.
“As the Official Country Partner for GITEX Technology Week 2015, the kingdom will use this global platform to demonstrate best practices in government-led innovation to boost economic diversification, while encouraging foreign direct investment in the kingdom’s ICT sector and supporting home-grown technology entrepreneurs to expand beyond our borders to deliver transformative services,” said Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Asiri, Official Spokesperson, National Information Center, Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
GITEX Technology Week 2015 will feature the event’s highest-ever number of Saudi exhibitors and exhibition space since the event’s launch 35 years ago. The event will host 48 Saudi exhibitors over more than 1,800 square metres, a 26 percent increase in exhibitors and 19 percent in total space on the previous edition.
“For the 35th anniversary of GITEX Technology Week, the kingdom is our ideal partner – a regional powerhouse for economic growth and technology innovation, and the region’s largest market for ICT investment. Visitors to the event can discover innovations in government services, and insights into reaching a large, youthful, and tech-savvy audience for technology innovations, and a welcoming market for foreign direct investment,” said Ahmed Al Khaja, Senior Vice President, DWTC, organiser of GITEX Technology Week 2015.
At the show, new areas to promote innovation and investment will be led by GTX Communities, which will provide new research, networking, and solutions across key verticals of banking, construction, education, healthcare, retail and oil and gas. The GTX Horizons zone will showcase demonstrations of emerging solutions such as 3D Printing, Autonomous Vehicles (drones), robotics, and smart transport. More than 100 globally-renowned speakers will participate in the conference component.
