JEDDAH, 22 May 2008 — Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar.E.C) and Cisco have come together as part of a new educational and training initiative. This follows an agreement signed between the two entities in the presence of Makkah Gov. Khaled Al-Faisal here yesterday.

Signing the deal were Emaar.E.C CEO Fahd Al-Rasheed and Cisco Saudi Arabia’s Managing Director Dr. Badr Al Badr.

The initiative of Emaar, the Tadawul-listed company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), also marks the unveiling of plans for investment in its major five-year educational program with Cisco. As many as 5,050 students will be trained under the program in the next five years to generate skilled human resources required to drive the growth of KAEC in particular and the Kingdom in general.

CISCO is acknowledged as a worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, for a pioneering educational initiative that will empower Saudi youth to be active participants in the growth of KAEC and the rest of the Kingdom. The initiative is steered by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the prime facilitator of KAEC.

Under the agreement, Cisco will serve as Emaar.E.C’s training partner for the development and implementation of the educational initiative.

“KAEC is a powerful driver for the Saudi economy and is aligned with our objective of making the Kingdom one of the 10 top competitive nations in the world by 2010,” SAGIA Gov. Amr Al-Dabbagh said. “Need-based education is a catalyst for fast-paced development and the partnership of Emaar.E.C and Cisco will help in creating highly skilled young Saudi professionals who can take on responsible and leading positions in KAEC’s various high-growth sectors,” he added.