● 09.06.11
●● Cablegate: Government of Oman is Sponsoring Microsoft, Helping to Indoctrinate the Population
Posted in Site News at 6:34 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Another shady deal between the Government of Oman and Microsoft, as revealed by a 2007 diplomatic cable
“The agreement, signed by Mohammed Nasser al-Khusaibi, Chairman of the ITA and Secretary General of the Ministry of National Economy, and Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager of Microsoft Gulf, calls for an investment of $6 million in establishing the center, $1 million of which is to come from Microsoft under its investment partnership accord with the Omani government (reftel).”
Wait, what?
Why is the government covering the large majority of the costs for a Microsoft recruitment centre? Does the public of Oman (taxpayers) know that this is going on? It was only yesterday that we wrote about the Government of Oman and Microsoft. The same types of deals happen in other countries and remain secret for a reason. Here is the later Cablegate cable (it came months later):
>
VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHMS #0323 0910806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 010806Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8035
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS MUSCAT 000323
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, EEB/CBA
COMMERCE FOR COBERG
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON, EINV, KIPR, MU
SUBJECT: MICROSOFT FIRMS PARTNERSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT
REF: 06 MUSCAT 1282
1. On March 27, Microsoft concluded an agreement with Oman's
Information Technology Authority (ITA) to launch an
innovation and support center, to be housed at Knowledge
Oasis Muscat (KOM), the government-run technology incubator.
The agreement, signed by Mohammed Nasser al-Khusaibi,
Chairman of the ITA and Secretary General of the Ministry of
National Economy, and Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager of
Microsoft Gulf, calls for an investment of $6 million in
establishing the center, $1 million of which is to come from
Microsoft under its investment partnership accord with the
Omani government (reftel). Microsoft Country Manager
Abdullah al-Lootah told Econoff that the center will house
between 20 to 40 Omanis, who will be trained by Microsoft
consultants to deliver services under the government's
"E-Oman" initiative in two to three years' time.
2. Lootah explained that the initiative is one of several
Microsoft is pursuing to "bridge the technology skills gap"
in Oman. In addition to the innovation center, Microsoft
will team with KOM and other selected partners in training
300 Omani government professionals per year on Microsoft
solutions. To support the government's recent purchase of
over 22,000 operating licenses, Microsoft will provide 24
hour on-site support services. In terms of further promoting
knowledge transfer opportunities, Microsoft will sponsor six
month visits by government officials to the company's Dubai
office to educate them on "best financial practices."
GRAPPO
Why is Microsoft receiving this franchise in Oman? Does that serve the interests of the Omani people? █
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