Abu-Ghazaleh and Co. Consulting GmbH (Germany) Announces the Official Registration of ASREN in Germany

Abu-Ghazaleh and Co. Consulting GmbH (Germany) Announces the Official Registration of ASREN in Germany

Posted on: 13 Dec, 2023

ASREN pledges to promote research and education in the Arab world through building Pan-Arab e-Infrastructures

DUSSELDORF, Germany --- June 22, 2011 – Following its successful inauguration in December 2010 at the League of Arab States Headquarters, the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) has been officially registered in Dusseldorf, Germany with Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. Consulting GmbH, Jordanian Universities Network, and Moroccan Research and Education Network (CNRST) as initial shareholders. The registration took place at the Notary Office of the district of the Higher Regional Court Dusseldorf [Oberlandes-gericht Dusseldorf].

The registration of ASREN is a result of continuing dedicated efforts made by the Arab National Research and Education Networks and with Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization’s generous financial contribution and technical and legal support. ASREN is now born as an independent and not-for-profit organization with a mission to implement, manage and extend sustainable Pan-Arab e-Infrastructures dedicated for Research and Education connecting National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in the Arab countries. Further NRENs are expected to become shareholders in the coming months.

It is building on the EU-funded EUMEDCONNECT2 research and education network which already provides connectivity in the Mediterranean region for innovative collaborations including high energy physics, earthquake analysis and agricultural research. The objective of ASREN is to further boost scientific research and cooperation in member countries through the provision of world-class e-infrastructures and e-services with ASREN’s roles on building consolidated Pan Arab e-Infrastructure, developing Arab NRENs, maintaining interoperability between NRENs, and creating collaboration venues in education and research among Arab institutions.

“In an era of knowledge economy, the availability of widespread, reliable and fast ICT-based infrastructures for research and education should be regarded as a key to economic development. Hence, we consider them an important priority for building the future of the Arab world. Arab countries have the skills, opportunity and political willingness to become a key player in this field and collaborate on a peer-basis with the rest of the world. As a result, ASREN came into existence,” said HE Mr. Amre Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and Honorary President of ASREN.

“In a world where borders are becoming increasingly undefined, and collaboration is becoming more important than competition, we believe that this widening of our present collaboration through ASREN e-Infrastructure is for everyone’s benefit and that overlooking this would be losing an opportunity to bring the Arab world closer. The joint work on developing ASREN with the League of Arab States, Arab NRENs, and the European Union has contributed largely to the formation of ASREN legal structure, operations, and implementation,” said HE Senator Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of ASREN.

Redouane Merrouch of CNRST added: "We chose to be an initial ASREN shareholder because the benefits of forming a regional network for NRENs are huge. It’s a valuable platform for sharing knowledge, resources and best practices specific to how we operate in this region."

About ASREN

ASREN was created as a legal entity under the auspices of the League of Arab States and the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) to help secure sustainable e-Infrastructures across the Arab world. 

About EUMEDCONNECT2:

Building on EUMEDCONNECT2, the high-capacity Internet network for research and education in the Mediterranean, which is co-funded by the European Commission, ASREN sets out to widen its geographical footprint by connecting other Arab national research and education networks (NRENs) in addition to the current seven EUMEDCONNECT2 member countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.

To date, EUMEDCONNECT2 Arab Mediterranean research and education network communities’ success stories include:

• Collaboration between French and Tunisian neurosurgeons in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of epilepsy;

• Participation of Mediterranean high-physicists in the Large Hadron Collider (LCH) experiments to discover the origins of the Universe;

• Assessment of earthquake hazards across the region;

• Agricultural research against the backdrop of desertification and limited water resources;

• Making education more flexible and accessible through e-learning initiatives.