Mumbai: Wipro Infotech, the Middle East, India and Asia Pacific IT division of US$1.35 billion Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), has signed agreements with Gulf Insurance Company, Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences, Investment Dar and Future Communications Company.

Suresh Vaswani, president, Wipro Infotech announced this at a press conference, which was also attended by Swashpawan Singh, the Indian Ambassador to Kuwait. These agreements are for application development, IT consultancy; infrastructure related service and; awareness programmes on Six Sigma quality standard.

Vaswani, said, "The Middle East is a critical component of our global expansion strategy, as it is a rapidly growing IT services market. Wipro is committed to building a strong business base in Kuwait as well as rest of the Middle East. We will continue to provide value through our vast global experience, robust quality processes, in-depth understanding of various domains and our comprehensive range of high value IT services."

Wipro commenced operations in Kuwait in August 2003 and is focusing on all verticals that include oil and gas, telecom, banking and insurance, government and retail. Having started its Middle East operations in June 2001, in just under three years, the company has built a strong customer base in Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Some of Wipro''s key customers in the Middle East include Saudi Polyolefins, Al Haya Medical Company and Riyadh Pharma in Saudi Arabia; Dubai e-Government, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Dry Docks in UAE; and Doha Bank, Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Vinyl Company. Wipro is in discussions with prospective customers in Kuwait.

Commenting on India''s success in the global software market,. Vaswani said that innovative service delivery models, commitment to quality and a focus on cost-effective solutions have made India the world''s preferred IT destination.

"In line with this, Wipro has been at the forefront of the quality revolution and is committed to bringing high quality cost effective IT Services to customers in Kuwait," added Mr. Vaswani.

Today, Wipro has over 300 skilled professionals working on various projects across the Middle East. Its major thrust is on the high-end of the IT Services value chain that includes Technology Services, Software Solutions and IT Consulting.