Dubai, 28 Sept. 05 (WAM) - Organisers Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC)signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the Government of AndhraPradesh's (GOAP's) Information Technology and Communications Department,renewing their commitment to organising GITEX in India for the fifth consecutiveyear in January 2006.

"We took the GITEX brand outside the Middle East, for the very firsttime in 2002 and marked the introduction of a new era in the history ofour organisation," said DWTC General Manager, Abdulla Qassem after signingthe MOU.

He noted that Hyderabad was chosen as a venue, as it was one of themost happening IT cities in India backed by the active support of theGovernment of Andhra Pradesh (GOAP). "The Indian IT market is worth Dhs.

92 billion (25 billion dolars) and continues to grow at the rate of 21%annually.

India offers a vast potential that is expected to cross Dhs. 239 billion(65 billion dollars) by 2009," Qassem remarked.

"We are set for the fifth edition of the event that has outgrown itsrole as a regional exhibition. The show covers a much greater expanseand attracts exhibitors from around the country as well as internationalexhibitors," he said.

Last year's event drew in exhibitors and delegations from Canada, China,Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Oman, Pennsylvania (USA), South Africa,Taiwan, Thailand and the UAE. "It makes sound sense for us to re-brandthe exhibition in light of its increasing size, scale and geographic extent.

In conjunction with the Government of AP's IT and C Department, we announcethe emergence of GITEX Hyderabad to GITEX India," Qassem stated.

Speaking on behalf of the GOAP, K. Ratna Prabha (IAS), Secretaryto the GOAP IT and C Department, said: "The state of AP is an establishedinformation technology market and a leading source of high quality technicalmanpower, which together with good infrastructure, moderate cost of living,political stability and a clean and green environment, has helped in attractinglarge numbers of global IT majors into Andhra Pradesh in less than a decade." "As a state, AP has successfully used IT to attain a position of leadershipand excellence in the region and more importantly, has managed to spreadthe reach of IT beyond the city of Hyderabad itself. We are now involvedin developing facilities state wide to include second-tier cities suchas Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Warangal and Tirupati," she remarked.

"The signing of the MoU reinforces our commitment to GITEX, a showthat delivers measurable results while offering exhibitors a solid platformto conduct business transactions and showcase their tech innovations,"Prabha said while appealing to exhibitors to participate in India.

IT majors such as Microsoft, Satyam, BenQ, Siemens, Acer, Brother,Visual Soft, Sierra Atlantic, Dubai Internet City, Olympus, ADP Wilco,Rittal, Remittag, Infotech, Zoom Technologies and RAM have participatedat GITEX Hyderabad last year.

Connecticut-based Gartner Inc. - a leading research and consultingservices provider to the global IT industry - predicted that Hyderabadwould surpass Bangalore and Chennai as an IT destination by 2010.

Along with the main event, Shopper India, the retail arm of GITEX India,will be held simultaneously in a dedicated hall at the HITEX InternationalExhibition Centre. GITEX India Shopper will also host leading local andregional vendors offering some of the best deals on computer hardware,software, peripherals, multimedia and a wide range of computer productsand services.

During the last event GITEX Shopper Hyderabad generated retail salesof more than Dhs. 2.6 million (30 million Indian Rupees).

Last year, the event registered a growth of 26% (7,938) in trade visitorswhile general public registrations crossed the 17,250 mark.

Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a major destination for innovative technologies,offshore services and widely recognized as the back office to the world.

BPO to KPO, Services to Applications, Technology to R and D, Design toFAB, EMS to Telecom and Animation to Gaming are the range of the globalICT industry sectors currently operating in the state.