The Minister for Communications, Mr. Nicolas Sehnaoui, inaugurated last June 20 in the presence of the Mohafez of Beirut, Mr. Nassif Kallouch, the Minister of Labour, Dr. Charbel Nahas and the President of the Association of Banks in Lebanon Dr. Joseph Torbey, the free internet service installed in the public garden of Sioufi (Ashrafieh, Beirut).

The Association of Banks announced that it has committed to fund this project through the development and support of plans for economic and social progress, and which were reflected by a series of steps related to this trend.

The launch of free Internet in the public garden of Sioufi is located in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Association of Banks in Lebanon, the Ministry of Communications and Sodetel Company. The MOU aims to provide free Internet service in public parks and in the context of partnership between the public and private sectors as per the dissemination of knowledge to the general public and to reduce the digital divide in Lebanon.

This Memorandum is one of several tools of partnership between public and private sectors to achieve the desired digital solidarity from the possibility of allowing a large number of citizens to enjoy free opportunities offered by information technology and communication, based on the principles of the Declaration of the World Summit on the Information Society.

The signatories of this Memorandum have agreed to work together to promote free access to information technology and communications, noting that this process operating in public parks does not only provide knowledge but also give opportunities for reconciliation with nature and respect for the environment and its assessment.

The MOU also aims at strengthening the information society by the connection of more public parks and gardens during working hours to free Internet service, which will be achieved progressively, in other parks.