His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday met with Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft.



During the meeting, attended by Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nadia Sa'eed at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center at the Dead Sea, King Abdullah commended the partnership Jordan and Microsoft enjoy, stressing that it is a model to follow on a regional level. He added that Microsoft is considered one of the pioneering IT companies in the world.



King Abdullah said that projects implemented by Microsoft and initiatives launched by Gates in Jordan have helped to advance the country's IT industry.



He also commended the support Microsoft offers to Jordan, especially since the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the ICT ministry and Microsoft. The King expressed appreciation for the corporation's coordination with the Jordanian private sector which has helped to improve the IT industry at every level.



Gates hailed the rapid development of the sector, stressing that the Kingdom exemplifies the region's future in the IT sector.



He also expressed admiration for the King's enthusiasm to develop the sector and to pace with the technological innovations.



Sa'eed emphasized the importance of Gates' visit to Jordan, during which he discussed with government officials how best to enhance the partnership between Microsoft and Jordan.



Also on Wednesday, Gates, who is on his third visit to the Arab world in two years, met with a number of governmental, business and education leaders. During the meeting, he reaffirmed Microsoft's commitment to the region and its support for the Kingdom's IT initiatives.



The Microsoft chairman also met with Sa'eed and other government officials to discuss how information and communication technology (ICT) developments will affect future government functions. They discussed how the information society will develop in the 21st century, how technology will affect government's ability to interact with citizens and how ICT can be used to improve public sector efficiency and productivity. They also discussed how the private sector can contribute to creating jobs.



Another highlight of the day was Gates' keynote address to an audience of more than 600 government officials, decision makers, partners and customers at an Iftar hosted by King Abdullah. He discussed Microsoft's support to Jordan and other emerging markets, highlighting several key initiatives and investments driven by Microsoft during the last few years in order to foster innovation through the building of a local intellectual property pool.



Gates also said that Microsoft has been at the forefront of the local IT sector since it started its operations in Jordan and has delivered on its commitments through significant investments in knowledge transfer, education, IT developers, community, and solutions to its customers.



Microsoft has also been a strong supporter of the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI), a public-private partnership to enhance education in the region, and works closely with Menhaj and the Ministries of ICT and Education as part of Microsoft's “Partners In Learning” initiative. The company also supports a low-cost IT support centre that services schools and maintains the IT infrastructure in schools. It opened the School Technology Innovation Center in Amman to help education professionals make effective use of ICT in teaching.



According to the partnership agreement, the government has committed to using licensed Microsoft programs in government and educational institutions in line with Jordan's commitment to intellectual property rights protection.



Microsoft has also been heavily engaged in different community projects under the Unlimited Potential Program (UP), the program that allowed Microsoft to reach more than 115,000 disadvantaged persons in Jordan through the establishment of or the participation in various projects such as Microsoft e-Libraries in Amman and Marka, the Knowledge Stations and the e-Villages projects.



Later, leading ICT companies briefed Gates on the latest developments in the local ICT industry. Gates also discussed future projects with the CEOs of leading ICT companies in the Kingdom.



During a session entitled “In the Eyes of the Youth”, students discussed with Gates how IT has impacted their lives and what they believe could be achieved through IT.