Etisalat today reaffirmed its commitment to catalyze the UAE's rapid growth and achieve national development goals through a coordinated response to Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Participating in the Telecom CEO Summit, held in Abu Dhabi, Etisalat shared its blueprint for a modern economy, with a think-tank of regional decision-makers. The Etisalat sponsored event saw the attendance and participation of His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, the UAE's Minster of Economy, His Excellency Majed Al Mesmar, Deputy Director General, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and regional telecom industry leaders. Speaking at the event, Matthew Willsher, Chief Marketing Officer at Etisalat, said, “Etisalat believes in the potential of ICT and we are working with our customers locally and globally to realise it. Our mission is to extend our customer's reach, not just by providing access to voice and SMS services, or an advanced broadband infrastructure. We are continuously looking for new ways in which we can add value." On the socio-economic benefits of ICT, Willsher highlighted, “ICT growth and development has a direct impact on local economies through job creation and boosting GDP. On our part, Etisalat has deployed socially responsible and economically beneficial ICT solutions in the UAE. These include award-winning solutions such as Etisalat's Mobile Commerce, Managed Services, Enterprise Mobility solutions and many more. We are investing and we continue to invest billions of dollars into our infrastructure to provide government, businesses and customers the most sophisticated array of services." According to research by Booz & Co, ICT sector investments in a country such as the UAE have the potential to double by 2016 to AED 100 billion which will act as a catalyst for greater economic diversification, creating an additional 16,000 jobs with a corresponding increase in the number of ICT small medium sized enterprises rising by 2,100 to 12,700. Etisalat is a prime mover in creating the right environment to accelerate social development and economic growth by delivering innovative solutions that can transform communities and businesses. “Creating an institutional framework for ICT will positively impact socio-economic development, However, to realize the true potential of ICT, governments, policymakers, and the telecommunications industry jointly have to play transformational roles in defining the ICT policy and evolving to a new governance model", added Willsher. The UAE is currently ranked 30th in the Network Readiness Index published annually by the World Economic Forum. The index measures a country's ability to exploit ICT opportunities based on analysis of market, political, the regulatory and infrastructure environment and how they are optimized to benefit from an ICT-enabled future.
