MDeC CEO's take on WCIT 2008

The 16th World Congress on Information Technology will be held in Malaysia from May 18 to 22.

The response has been overwhelming with with 2,716 delegates already booked (the target was 2,500). As a result, the organizers have closed all channels for delegate registration including online and facsimile.

The tremendous turnout will be an opportunity for Malaysia to position itself as a preferred global ICT hub

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) CEO Badlisham Ghazali, who is chairman of WCIT 2008, says that Malaysia's geographic location and cultural diversity makes the country ideally-placed to be a "gateway into the emerging knowledge economies of Asia and from Asia to the rest of the world".

As an example, he cites how Malaysia's proximity as well as economic and cultural ties to China (hardware), India (software and services) and Middle East (buyers) puts the country in a unique position to play that gateway role.

To further that end, the country has set up marketing offices in Dalian (China), Bangalore (India) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).