Thuraya and Canar's Partnership, Bolsters Sudan Presence

KHARTOUM, Feb. 28, 2007 – Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. has strengthened its presence in the key African market of Sudan by forming a partnership with the country's telecom operator Canar Telecommunication Co. Ltd.

The launch of Thuraya services in Sudan with Canar, took place on Wednesday 28 February at Al Salam Rotana Hotel in Kartouum. The event was attended by the Federal Minister of Information and Telecommunication, Minister of Investment among other Ministers, in addition to a number of VIPs from the diplomatic and business sectors.

“We are happy to partner with Canar to be our new service provider in Sudan . Thuraya is the leader in Africa when it comes to the mobile satellite services (MSS) industry,” said Thuraya CEO, Yousuf Al Sayed, who will be in Khartoum for the launching ceremony this week. “This will help us strengthen our already strong presence in the country,” he added.

Presentations by Thuraya and Canar senior officials were conducted explaining and pointing at Thuraya technologies offered in the Middle East and Africa Regions, and Canar marketing strategies to provide services for Thuraya total communication solutions. A demonstration of Thuraya voice and data technologies took place as well.

“We would like to express our pleasure for partnering with Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. to become their service provider in Sudan . Canar will utilize its resources and seasoned network of customer services outlets and distributors to provide Thuraya with unique sales and customer oriented services for to the Sudanese community” said Ali Bin Jarsh , Chief Executive Officer of Canar Telecommunications Company.

The demand for telecom services has grown rapidly in the past few years and considered as the first rapidly growing sector besides Oil and Gas sector in Sudan .

The new partnership is the latest in a series announced by Thuraya in recent months to boost business in Africa , which represents a sizable part of its core markets.

About Thuraya ( www.thuraya.com )

Thuraya, based in Abu Dhabi , provides cost-effective mobile satellite services in more than 110 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East . The Company will launch its third satellite later this year, bringing countries of the Asia-Pacific region under Thuraya's footprint and extending its coverage to nearly two third of the globe's population.

Thuraya was founded in 1997 by a consortium of leading national telecommunications operators and reputed investment firms.

 
About Canar: ( www.canar.sd )

Canar Telecommunication Company Ltd., the most up-to-date telecommunication services provider in the Sudan was established in April 2005. Canar is in the forefront of operators being one of the few to deploy Next Generation Network (NGN) and is one of the first to do so in Africa . Next Generation Network applications (NGN) is based on the Internet Protocols (IP). The company shall also rely on other highly advanced technologies including the fiber-optic cables, the wireless Internet services to provide high-speed Internet services, data and voice services which will rank the Sudan amongst the first countries to benefit from this technology in its Telecommunication network. This new advancement will definitely pave the way for making this technology available to wide sectors of the Sudanese society.