Over the last couple of days, Cisco has been busy connecting the Middle East together through telepresence. In their their first announcement, Cisco announced that they were giving 2 of their top-of-the-line TelePresence 3000 rooms to each of the countries of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and the UAE. This announcement is part of a larger project between American private industry and the US government called The US-Lebanon Partnership Fund (administered by the NGO Global Impact), of which Cisco is a signatory and major sponsor.

The goal of this project is to aid the new democracy that emerged in Lebanon during 2005 in the wake of the Cedar Revolution. The public escalation of announcements about The US-Lebanon Partnership Fund comes on the heels of days of unrest in Beirut as the opposition group Hezbollah threatens to bring civil war back to Lebanon after a summer spent in fierce fighting with Israel.

Cisco's bold positioning, along with Intel, convinced tech monolith Microsoft to join the cause last week. These large tech firms were joined in the fund by other industry heavyweights Occidental Petroleum, Citgroup and GHAFARI. The corporate fund members along with the Saudi, US and other governments pledged USD$7.6 billion to Lebanon at the Paris III conference last week to help the rebuilding effort.

John Chambers, Chief Executive Officer of Cisco, explained the scope of the telepresence donation to the fractured region:

"Cisco TelePresence has introduced an entirely new way to communicate and collaborate, and the adoption of this technology by the countries announced today illustrates the role ICT can play for countries in the Emerging Markets to leapfrog existing infrastructures. We believe that the implementation of leading edge technology such as TelePresence in each of these countries will help foster greater interaction within both the countries and the region, presenting new ways to enhance the lives and opportunities for their citizens."

These telepresence facilities help address the dearth of telecommunications infrastructure that was mentioned as one of the five key areas in which Lebanon needed the most urgent attention. Chambers broadened the message more generally to incorporate the partnership's goals in helping to rebuild Lebanon and integrate the greater Middle East:

"Through public-private partnerships along with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the global community, together, we can accomplish what none of us could do alone. We are calling upon citizens and the global business community to share their financial resources and expertise with the Lebanese people to contribute to a safe, stable and prosperous nation."

John's Analysis:

It is refreshing to see Cisco and the other tech heavyweights exercising responsible corporate stewardship and generously donating their time, technology and profits towards advancing the cause of peace, progress, and prosperity in Middle East. While likely not an entirely benevolent gesture and at least partially a move to help Cisco gain traction in the government sector of an increasingly competitive telepresence market, actions such as these should act as an example of how corporate interests can give back to the world that has helped them achieve great success.

Face-to-face communication has long been known to be the key to building relationships and Cisco's gift of telepresence solutions are a timely and logical gesture to bridge the chasms of ethnic and religous division that dominate the modern Middle East. As these first steps are celebrated, let us hope they are followed by sustained action from all of those soon to be connected via telepresence towards a viable future for the entire region.