RIYADH, 15 September — Saudi Computer 2002 will open today at the Riyadh Exhibition Center, featuring the latest in information technology and a series of seminars, workshops and tutorials relating to software promotion, education and sales. Hussein Al-Athel, secretary-general of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will inaugurate the show.
Concurrently in Jeddah, the International Exhibition and Convention Center will host today CommTel, Saudi Arabia’s international event for computer, internet and related accessories.
Referring to the Riyadh event, Walid Saleem, project manager at the Riyadh Exhibition Center, told Arab News that around 100 companies, including Internet Service Providers and software developers, from the Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Korea and Kuwait, would participate in the exhibition. He said the event is significant, since the Kingdom is the largest software market in the Middle East, with the new software laws creating more than a tenfold growth in software sales.
Communications, Internet applications, educational hardware and software, and mobile computing have been growing at over 20 percent annually. Internet services in the Kingdom are creating an exceptional demand for associated software, hardware and services, he observed. Pointing out that the communications market in the Kingdom was set to grow, Saleem said the main factor was the projected growth from its current level of 4.1 million to more than six million users over the next five years.
The Jeddah exhibition showcases the high technology world of the personal computer and its accessories.
On the sidelines of this show will be Live-Arabia featuring sound, vision, consumer electronics and satellite broadcasting channels. Another highlight of the event is the Middle East Education & Training Exhibition and Symposium (MEETES ), now in its eighth year.
