Zain team visit Petra

Senior Zain executives were back on the road again continuing a tour of the Kingdom’s southern governorates. Zain CEO Dr. Abdel-Malek Al-Jaber accompanied by senior managers and department heads visited Petra and Ma’an and met with officials from the Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA), the al-Hussein Bin Talal University, and Aqaba Railway Corporation (ARC). 

The Zain delegation held talks on communications technologies and services in southern Jordan with Chief Commissioner of the Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority Nasser Shraideh.

During the meeting, Dr. Al-Jaber reaffirmed Zain’s commitment to local community development in the south and its efforts in developing the technological infrastructure. He said Zain is aware of the need to expand coverage of services in a vital economic part of the country and looks forward to forging more strategic partnerships in the southern governorates.

Dr. Al-Jaber said last year’s initiative by Zain to tour the Kingdom’s governorates has become a major component of its calendar, in which it seeks to create stronger cooperation avenues with leading public, economic, and educational institutions.

PDTRA Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh presented an overview of the Authority’s development master plan on the touristic as well as developmental levels.

Mr. Shraideh highlighted the various programs launched by the PDTRA in Petra and other population centers that are aimed at giving tourists a unique experience and further develop the region’s inhabitants. He also underlined the efforts being exerted in support of education in general and teachers in particular.

In this regard, Dr. Al-Jaber reiterated Zain’s commitment to supporting the region’s infrastructure and its educational sector through initiatives launched by the company including the Zain scholarship fund and the “PC for every teacher” fund.

The Zain Executive team also met the president of the al-Hussein Bin Talal University Dr. Ali al-Hrout and a number of University officials. The meeting coincided with the 11th anniversary of its establishment as one of the first universities to be founded during the reign of His Majesty King Abdullah II.

Dr. al-Hrout valued Zain’s initiative of meeting leading institutions in the south of Jordan. He presented an overview of the role of the university in developing the societies in the Ma’an area and in changing and developing the prevailing social structure.

Dr. al-Hrout said females make up 55% of the university’s student population. He also highlighted the role of “the Voice of the South” - the University’s radio station – in implementing His Majesty the King’s vision for social and economic development in the southern region.

On his part, Dr. Abdel-Malek Al-Jaber summarized Zain’s corporate social responsibility policies and its role in supporting economic and social development. He said, as a comprehensive operator, Zain goes beyond providing cellular communications, and is engaged in various endeavors with leading institutions in various sectors not as clients but as strategic business partners.

Dr. Al-Jaber said Zain looks forward to building such strategic partnership with the al-Hussein Bin Talal University, and to supporting its infrastructure with wireless internet to cater for the needs of students and staff.

The tour of the south also took the executive team to the Aqaba Railway Corporation in Ma’an, where they discussed future cooperation with its Director General Mr. Hussein Kreishan.