Riyadh, 09 December 2006 - Dr. Badr Al-Badr, General Manager, Cisco Saudi Arabia, said that the SR 1 billion investment initiative Cisco announced last April puts higher education and technical training at the heart of the company's investment drive in Saudi Arabia. This priority aims to support the efforts exerted by the Saudi government to play a proactive role in the global economy, an endeavor that requires developing the education and technical training in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.

The SR 1 billion investment was previously announced by John Chambers, Cisco President and CEO, during his first ever visit to the Kingdom earlier this year, in collaboration with His Excellency Amr Al Dabbagh, Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

Along with its role in reinforcing the growing importance of the Saudi market in the global economy, Cisco's investment comes in the course of a remarkable transformation experienced by the Saudi economy. This transformation is a result of the directions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz to expand economic growth opportunities through encouraging more investments in business, innovation, higher education and technical training. 

"Cisco's investment aims to develop the performance of education and training in the ICT sector in the Kingdom. This will be done through creating an optimal environment that can deliver national cadres, highly qualified to use top-notch technologies in the sector. Also, we are working on arming our national graduates with the expertise and skills that enable them to handle their responsibilities in the course of the economic development which all of us are targeting", said Albadr.

The objectives of Cisco's investment plan for Saudi Arabia over the next five years include:

  • Increase overall headcount of employees in Saudi Arabia from 130 at present to 600.

  • Provide leasing and other financial solutions to Cisco customers and partners in the country through Cisco Capital, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc.

  • Develop a Cisco "Technology and Entrepreneurship Innovation Center" to demonstrate the positive impact technology has on productivity across the different vertical markets.

  • Sponsor a "Saudi Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute" to act as incubation space for local start-ups, research and development activities, labs and demonstration centers and an academic chair in entrepreneurship.

  • Provide the equipment, training, education and support required to network 2,000 homes in Saudi Arabia's low income communities, in support of King Abdullah's Charitable Housing Foundation efforts.

  • Establish 100 more Networking Academies in the country to provide enhanced technical programs in concert with leading local universities. There are currently 46 networking academies across Saudi Arabia, and the additional 100 Networking Academies will be rolled out over the next five years.

  • Expand the existing Cisco Networking Academy program by establishing a "Netversity" in Saudi Arabia which will partner with public education organizations and provide advanced business and technical training to align Saudi youth with the needs of employers.

-Ends- 

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© Press Release 2006