October 1, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 23, 1423

DHAHRAN, Sept 30: After successfully organising two exhibitions in Pakistan, the ITCN has now spread its wings to the Middle East also. An Information Technology Commerce Network (ITCN-Saudi Arabia) exhibition is currently being held at the Dhahran Expo centre. The exhibition is scheduled to continue till October 4.

About 160 companies from throughout the region are present, displaying their products and services. Islamic Chambers of Commerce, e-Commerce Gateway Consortium (Singapore), Commerce Net Singapore and Jamal’s Yellow Pages of Pakistan have organized this exhibition at Dhahran in association with the 19th computer and communication exhibition.

Some 32 companies from Pakistan are exhibiting their products and services in the show. Leading Pakistani educational institutions including the University of Karachi, Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology, NED University of Engineering & Technology, Mehran Engineering University, SZABIST and a number of Pakistani educational institutions are also participating showcasing the level of IT education imparted in Pakistan. LT Engineering of Pakistan, Asia’s first fibre optic manufacturing company is also displaying its capabilities during the week-long exhibition.

The basic objective of the ITCN, according to the organisers is to provide an opportunity for trade matching in the sector of information technology. A number of Saudi organizations are participating in the expo. Major IT companies from the region, including India, the UAE and other Gulf countries are also conspicuous by their presence.

The Sindh minister of finance and Planning who came over to attend the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition told this correspondent that the objective of the ITCN Saudi Arabia is to expand the network generated by the ITCN exhibitions in Pakistan and to showcase Pakistan’s IT service and IT education capabilities. ITCN-Saudi Arabia is also to expand the event management potential of Pakistan, he elaborated. “By exporting the ITCN to Saudi Arabia, we are trying to emulate upon previous successes in this connection.”