Etisalat Sponsors 18th Arab Economic Forum

Etisalat has sponsored the 18^th Arab Economic Forum, which took place at the InterContinental Phoenicia Beirut hotel , under the theme of ‘The Arab Economy after the Crisis’. The forum was attended by the Lebanese Prime Minister H.E. Saad Al Hariri and an assembly of major banking and financial figures and a large number of investors and specialists in the business sector.

Etisalat’s Chief International Investment Officer, Jamal Al Jarwan participated in the first seminar at the forum which was entitled ‘Global Economy, Post Crisis Phase’. Al Jarwan addressed the audience about Etisalat’s latest achievements in its international operations and about the company’s future goals for mobile broadband in its markets. Al Jarwan also discussed Etisalat’s fiber to the home services for individual and business customers.

He also discussed Etisalat’s successful experience in its international markets. He focused on Mobily’s achievements as a Greenfield operator from its launch to its position today – one of most successful and fastest growing operators in the world. Mobily’s network will be the corner stone for developing innovative services and solutions for its customers.

Al Jarwan also discussed Etisalat’s experience in Egyptwhere Etisalat Misr has expanded its 3.5G network across 40 cities by the end of 2007. The company also succeeded in covering 98% of the overall populated areas in Egypttwo years earlier than the deadline given by the National Telecommunications Regulatory.

Etisalat today operates in 18 markets covering more than 2 billion customers in the UAE, KSA, Pakistan,Sudan, Tanzania, Benin,Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger,Togo, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan,Egypt, Nigeria, India,Indonesia, and Sri-Lanka.

Etisalat is the largest carrier for voice data in theMiddle East. It has the largest roaming network in the region with 525 agreements who cover more than 190 countries world wide by voice, BlackBerry and 3G services. It also has Points of Presence (PoP) in London, New York,Amsterdam, Singapore,Frankfort and Paris providing a truly global reach.