Amman, Jordan - The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MoICT) and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) today signed an agreement for the provision of training and technical consultation on the e-Government programme. The partnership is part of the government's initiative to provide citizens with better information and services through the functions of e-Government. The agreement, between the Jordanian and German institutions, was signed by Minister of ICT, Dr. Fawaz H. Zu'bi and Dr. Hans-Michael Hauser, Director GTZ Middle East and was further endorsed by the Minister of Planning, Dr. Bassem Awadallah and German Ambassador to Jordan, Dr. Martin Schneller, who were both present at the signing ceremony. Mr. Andreas Sommer of SEC-Sommer Engineering & Consulting was introduced as Project Manager for the German part of the Jordan e-Government programme.

"The partnership between the MoICT and GTZ is a continuation of our work to implement Jordan's e-Government programme, an initiative that brings the improved government services to the citizens," said Dr. Fawaz H. Zu'bi, Minister of ICT. "The partnership with GTZ will not only provide local ministries and governmental departments with the necessary know-how and technology required to implement e-Government applications, but will also transfer the skills to government employees who will be able to provide improved services to all Jordanian citizens."

This partnership, valued at Euro 511,000 (c. 352,700 JD) is a part of the grant from the German government to the Jordanian government. It will provide the e-Government programme with training resources, local technical and administration staff, as well as international and short-term experts to monitor and work on special tasks in the project. These include areas such as consultation on the e-Government operations centre and security policy. This agreement also demonstrates the strong support that Jordan has from the German government, which provides the largest assistance after the United States and Japan in terms of donor-contributors.

"Technical cooperation is all about enhancing the performance of our partners and improving their institutional capacities", said Dr. Hauser, Director GTZ Middle East. "Germany and Jordan have historically enjoyed close relationships, and we will continue to support the Kingdom's initiatives and programmes through the transfer of knowledge and skills and technical support, particularly with the development of the e-Government."

"The assistance given to the Ministry of ICT will help Jordan to move forward and bring positive change to the Kingdom and its citizens," said Dr. Bassem Awadallah, Minister of Planning. "Through the allocation of these funds to the e-Government programme, the government is ensuring that its employees have the necessary support and technical training to implement the changes that positively result from the implementation of the e-Government programme. Partnerships such as these, demonstrate how seriously committed Jordan is to delivering improved services to its citizens."

The German Technical Cooperation with Jordan started in the 1960's, with projects in various fields, including water and environment, agriculture, economic development, education, among others. GTZ also supports development and reform processes on behalf of other German ministries, partner-country governments and international organisations and institutions.