Jordan has signed a 6.6 million dollars agreement with software giant Microsoft to equip the government with the latest computers and information technology needs.
The deal was signed in New York on the sidelines of the UN's millennium summit Thursday in the presence of Jordan's King Abdullah who has relentlessly campaigned over the past year to put Jordan on the information technology map.
"The 6.6 million dollar deal aims at providing the various government offices with a total of 8,000 computers and software produced by Microsoft, including new programs which will be produced by the company over the next three years," Petra news agency reported Friday.
Government staff in Jordan will also receive training from Microsoft experts on the use of the new technology, the agency said.
Ever since coming to the throne in February 1999 following the death of his father, King Hussein, the young Jordanian monarch has spearheaded efforts to build an information technology park in Jordan.
Abdullah has focussed on developing a scheme to attract 150 million dollars in foreign investments by 2004, create 30,000 jobs and provide cash-strapped Jordan with 550 million dollars from IT-related exports.
Earlier this year Abdullah met Microsoft chief Bill Gates to discuss his goals as well as the heads of other information technology-related firms and also hosted an international seminar in Jordan to unveil his IT scheme.
The US-based computer network provider, Cisco Systems, also showed keen interest in Jordan earlier this year and announced it was investing one million dollars in a newly-created high-tech fund for the kingdom – AMMAN (AFP)
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