The 34TH Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2014 kicked off Sunday, with Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai, performing its formal opening. The 4-day event — one of the most important in the region’s tech calendar — is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Interest for the ICT sector has been growing in the Middle East as a main driver for private and public investment, and much traffic is expected. The organizers of the event expect more than 100,000 professionals from the IT sector of 150 countries and 3,700 exhibitors from more than 60 countries are attending at stands. Exhibitions and conferences will be running in parallel to the main event.

After the opening, the crown prince visited the Dubai Custom’s stand and received a briefing on the smart services by DP World from Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation Chairman Ahmed Sultan bin Sulayem.

“Dubai Customs is now offering all of its services online via smart watches, following the launch of 15 new services as GITEX kicks off. The newly launched set of services adds to four other services that were rolled out through this innovative delivery channel last June,” said Bin Sulayem.

Another entity that presented its technologies was GDRFA-Dubai's, whose portfolio of new smart services includes a 3D robot, which is planned to be deployed at Dubai International Airport and GDRFA-Dubai customer service centers in Dubai.

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al-Marri, director general of GDRFA-Dubai, said in its recent newsletter: "We have spared no efforts in utilizing our biggest-ever participation in GITEX since 2009 to highlight our technological leadership in efficient and seamless travelers' facilitation."

A third Dubai entity — Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) — announced a new website and a mobile application at GITEX to help achieve its goal of 20 million tourists by 2020.

The application combines social media networks, search engines and holiday websites to give travelers interested in visiting Dubai suitable and comprehensive information.

“Today’s global traveler expects to be connected at all times wherever they go,” said Issam Abdul Rahim Kazim, chief executive at DTCM.

The application — which will be launched this year — will be available in German, Russian and Chinese.

Among the services offered to tourists, it creates itineraries for their trips. Once a booking has been made, users can browse a virtual tour guide on arrival and share their personal travel experiences with friends and family through social media.

In addition, it includes a location enabler. By switching on the Bluetooth, users can receive deals and offers near them without the need to roam and spend money on data packages.

On the other hand, Abu Dhabi’s Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) also launched a similar mobile application with focus on events taking place in the emirate.

It was not all about apps today. Warid Telecom, a leading cellular service provider in Pakistan, announced its partnership with Ericsson as its sole supplier of 4G LTE in Pakistan. Under this agreement, Ericsson becomes the sole supplier of 4G LTE for Warid in Pakistan.

Warid will launch one of first networks in the world that will be shifted from 2G to 4G technology directly. With the launch of its 4G LTE services, Warid Telecom’s subscribers in Pakistan will experience mobile broadband revolution with high-speed data on the go.

Commenting on the announcement, CEO Muneer Farooqui said: “Warid is gearing up for the 4G LTE launch with the best available network solutions and Ericsson has been committed to provide us with the state-of-the-art technologies and services.”

While Panasonic, the Japanese electronics manufacturer, unveiled at a press conference some of its new products and services among them two health care robots, a range of agricultural solutions, smart living initiatives and new projectors.