A delegation from Bahrain visited companies at the Infocomm Singapore Pavilion.

Singapore broke new ground at the recent GITEX 2009 when it became the first and only foreign country to be represented at the inaugural e-Government Hall. The presence of the Infocomm Singapore pavilion at the e-Government Hall, which boasts a strong showing from the Gulf Cooperation Council governments, underscores the close relationships that the country state enjoys with countries in the Middle East.

Mr Shaik Umar, Centre Director for the Infocomm Development Authority’s (IDA’s) Middle East Office, said, “Besides it being an honour to showcase alongside our partners in the Middle East, our presence in this hall is a testimony that Singapore’s e-Government capabilities are recognised as reliable, innovative and worthy of the region’s consideration.”

A total of eight companies exhibited under the Infocomm Singapore banner at GITEX 2009, which took place on 18-22 October 2009. They included ANTlabs ( www.antlabs.com ), CrimsonLogic ( www.crimsonlogic.com ), Ecquaria ( www.ecquaria.com ),   i-POP ( www.i-pop.net ), MicroUsability ( www.microusability.com ), NCS ( www.ncs.com.sg ), SQL View ( www.sqlview.com ) and ST Electronics (Info-Security) ( www.digisafe.com ).

RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay (centre), Chief Executive Officer of IDA, graced the Infocomm Singapore Networking Reception held at the Pavilion.

The companies showcased solutions in ICT infrastructure, infocomm security and e-government. Among these was the award-winning Online Business Licensing System from Ecquaria.

“GITEX is one of the key and targeted platforms for us to introduce and showcase our e-government expertise and implemented projects to the Middle East market,” said Dr Foong Wai Keong, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ecquaria. “Being part of the Singapore pavilion, the only foreign country pavilion at the e-Government Hall, is a great advantage to us because we got to meet more targeted visitors.”

Another member of the Singapore delegation, Mr Ang Kwang Tat, Managing Director of ANTlabs, said his company’s participation in the event provided a lot of useful insights into doing business in the Middle East. “We learnt where the opportunities are more amongst the Gulf States, and obtained quite a few leads to follow-up. We also took the chance to catch up with our current partners in the region, and did some publicity at the same time.”

This is the fifth year that IDA has led a contingent to GITEX, as part of its efforts to help Singapore infocomm companies expand their engagements in the Middle East.