(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Omar Razzaz on Thursday attended the virtual opening of the Arab Satellite Communications Organisation's (Arabsat) 43rd General Assembly meetings.
During the ceremony, which witnessed the participation of Arab ministers of information and telecommunications, Razzaz conveyed His Majesty's greetings to the gathering, highlighting that the King attaches great importance to ICT's various sectors for their direct impact on Arab joint work, their part in improving the lives of millions of people around the world and their 'great role' in building a knowledge-based economy.
'A knowledge-based economy is an essential engine for economic growth,' the premier said, noting that such an economy depends on the availability of ICT, the use of innovation, digitisation and the production of goods and services with high added value.
He noted that the coronavirus crisis has 'proven the importance of technology in sustaining the work of various sectors', the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Highlighting Arabsat's role in 'preserving Arab identity' and addressing Arab and international public opinion, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Muthanna Gharaibeh said in his opening remarks that all necessary measures to host the meetings in the Kingdom have been taken, but due to the global circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic and the inability to travel, it was decided to hold the meetings virtually.
Khaled Bin Ahmed Balkheyour, president and CEO of Arabsat, said: 'On behalf of all Arabsat employees, I extend my sincere thanks to His Majesty King Abdullah for his gracious patronage of the Arabsat General Assembly, as His Majesty, since Arabsat was founded, has supported, hosted and sponsored many of its media and technical activities.'
The most important item on the agenda of the general assembly meetings is to discuss the report of the board of directors and to approve Arabsat's final financial account in addition to discussing new projects, he noted.
According to Arabsat by-laws, Jordan will preside over the Arabsat's 43rd general assembly meetings for one year.
Founded in 1976 by the member-states of the Arab League, Arabsat has been serving the growing needs of the Arab world for over 40 years. As one of the world's top satellite operators and by far the leading satellite services provider in the Arab world, it carries over 500 TV channels, 200 radio stations, pay-TV networks and a wide variety of HD channels reaching tens of millions of homes in more than 80 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Europe, according to the organisation's website.
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