[Jeddah, KSA.- 12. January 2008] Knowledge Economic City Al Madinah (KEC) has become a major sponsor of the first ever regional conference on the knowledge economy to be held in Jeddah.

The two day conference from January 12 -13 is being organised by the Arabian Knowledge Economy Association jointly with Al-Aghar Strategic Think Tank Group and Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

KEC CEO Tahir Bawazir says Knowledge Economic City is supporting the conference because its theme, "Building a Knowledge-Based Economy in the Arab World", fits perfectly with what KEC is creating in the city of Al Madinah.

"As silver sponsors we look forward to networking with other conference participants and sharing our experiences in Al Madinah," Mr Bawazir said.

A high powered line up of international speakers has been arranged and a highlight of the conference will be the official welcome by the Governor of Makkah Region, HRH Prince Kahlid Al-Faisal at the conference dinner.

Opening remarks will be given by the Secretary-General of the Arab League, HE Dr Amr Mosa, followed by a scene-setting address by Jean-Eric Aubert from the World Bank Institute.

Other speakers will cover topics as diverse as Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy and Starting a Green Field Project without Infrastructure to Venture Capital: A Missing Link for the Knowledge Economy.

With a solid commitment to fostering the development of a knowledge based economy in Saudi Arabia, KEC has demonstrated its ambitions to build a world class hub for knowledge based industries in Al Madinah by signing Memoranda of Understandings with major blue chip companies including Oracle, Cisco, the international IT certification organisation CompTIA and Intel to provide a range of IT training and services.