Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking reconfirmed its commitment to support the economic development in Jordan with the region emerging as a key area of growth for the company.
Cisco's announcement comes at a time when Jordan is committed to harnessing the power of 'Information and Communications Technologies' (ICTs) to drive growth and development in the country. Cisco recently launched its Global Talent Acceleration Programme (GTAP) in Amman. This worldwide initiative is aimed at training and developing local network consulting engineers (NCEs) based in Jordan and other countries in Emerging Markets. Cisco has also been very active in providing substantial funding, technology and resources towards the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI), an ambitious e-Learning project that supports the Jordanian government's vision of building a knowledge-based economy. Cisco Networking Academy programme was also established in Jordan in 1998 and today has a total of 58 academies and about 6000 students enrolled in the programme. The Jordanian government has announced that ICT adoption is on its main agenda and has rolled out it's a new national strategy which has been put in place until 2011. The plan comprises four key 'pillars' covering connectivity, research and development, labour and education and investment regulations. One of the main goals of the plan is to grow ICT revenues to USD 3 billion by 2011.
