His Majesty King Abdullah has been very active in promoting the development of Jordan’s IT sector primarily during the first quarter of 2000. King Abdullah has announced and is hosting Jordan’s first IT forum to be held on March 24-25, as a coronation of the King’s efforts to familiarize world IT leaders with investment opportunities in Jordan. The King also met with Michel Lacombe, President of Microsoft Europe, Africa and the Middle East and discussed ways and means to fully realise the potential of Jordan’s information technology sector. King Abdullah emphasized the private and public sectors’ efforts to create an environment conducive to the development of an IT industry, including legislation to encourage investments and enforce intellectual property rights protection.

In addition to the IT forum other activities in the promotion of IS included: a seminar to promote awareness of intellectual property rights; the American Business Center of the American Embassy held their Eighth annual Computer Show in Amman; and the Jordan Engineering Association set up a database to provide job opportunities.

• His Majesty King Abdullah also held talks on February 28, with Microsoft Vice-President for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe Michel Lacombe. The meeting came ahead of the King's initiative to familiarise world information technology leaders with investment opportunities in Jordan by inviting representatives of Internet titans and cyber-multinationals to the Kingdom's first IT forum. The King explained the private and public sectors’ efforts to create an environment conducive to the development of an IT industry, including legislation to encourage investments and enforce intellectual property rights protection. The King also stressed that Jordan’s telecommunications infrastructure is being modernized. The Microsoft senior official also met with Prime Minister Abdur-Ra'uf S. Rawabdeh and several officials, before hosting a reception for Jordan's leading IT representatives. Lacombe's one-day visit here is in fulfillment of a promise made to the King by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates after talks the two held on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos. On that occasion, Gates, who is now also Microsoft Chief Software Architect, expressed serious interest in becoming acquainted with Jordan's IT efforts, legal framework and incentives, and pledged to look into the potential for Microsoft operations in the Kingdom.

• Jordan’s first IT Forum was held at the Dead Sea on March 24-25. This Forum was an initiative by His Majesty King Abdullah who had invited representatives of the world's biggest software firms to gather at the conference which aims to boost Jordan's software development and information technology (IT) industry. The King had spent part of his trips to Europe and the U.S. in meetings with software company leaders, like Microsoft founder Bill Gates, inviting them to attend the conference and consider Jordan's vast IT and software opportunities. The forum brought together key government officials, private sector investors, and representatives from international agencies and companies to share their visions and solutions for the development of Jordan's IT sector. Around 340 participants representing some 100 international and more than 50 local companies specialized in information technology or interest in financing IT programmes are expected to participate in the forum. The conference started with a presentation from Karim Kawar, Chairman of Jordan’s IT Association on the Kingdom's competitive advantages as a potential base for the IT sector. Assessing the development of Jordan's telecommunications infrastructure, evaluating also its regulatory framework. Jordan's recent accession to the World Trade Organisation and the adoption of required legislation, especially in the protection of intellectual property rights, were also presented and discussed. Giants represented at the forum included Sun Microsystems, Oracle Corporation, One World Software, and America On Line.

• The American Business Center (ABC) of the American Embassy held "The Eighth Annual Computer Show (ACS)" on March 28-30 at the Zara Expo Hall in Amman. The American Computer Show is an annual trade show organized by the American Business Center (ABC) of the American Embassy in Jordan, displaying the broadest range of computer products including software, hardware, peripherals, and accessories. About 39 participants took part in this year’s exhibition, some of these are: FASTLINK, First Telecommunication Group (firstnet), Global One Communications (Jordan) Ltd., International Resources for Computers and Communications, Jordan Computer Society, Jordan Internet Network, Jordan Radio Paging – Mirsal, Microsoft Corporation, and the Middle East Communications Corporation (MEC).

• A seminar was held in February in order to promote awareness of intellectual property rights. The seminar, was held at the University of Jordan (UJ) in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the National Library. Sharif Sa’adallah, Director of the Arab Bureau for Development and WIPO’s representative to the seminar, told participants that intellectual property laws will help to assert economic creativity in the Arab world, and assist Arab governments to promote lawful commercial exchange in line with principles of protecting intellectual property in fields such as economic, cultural and social development. UJ’s President Waleed Ma’an said that Jordan has achieved progress in the field of intellectual property rights when it was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) last December. The University of Jordan plans to introduce a new Master of Arts degree program next year in the field of intellectual property at the Faculty of Law. Sources at the Ministry of Trade and Industry said that Jordan will implement the new Patents and Inventions Law in April soon after Parliament ratifies the WTO agreement.

• The Jordan Engineers Association has set up a database linked to its Internet home page to help members find jobs at home and abroad. Association Head - Azzam Huneidi stated that aim of the project is to provide job opportunities for engineers all over the Kingdom. The database is tailored to find jobs for engineers by taking into account their education, practical qualifications and specialities. Several other professional associations are expected to follow in the JEA's footsteps with website databases of their own.