IN EARLY 2009 we showed that Microsoft signed a bizarre deal with the Turkish government, immediately harming the nation's adoption of GNU/Linux through government-funded efforts such as the Pardus GNU/Linux distribution. Now we have a Cablegate cable from around the same time. It says that Microsoft's deal "appears to be an opportunistic business development effort presented to President Berdimuhamedov in an attempt to solidify its standing in the local market (reftel). At the same time, the project will provide Microsoft with solid foothold in Turkmenistan's small, but grossly underserved market."
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SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, EEB AID/W FOR EE/EA
E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EAID, ECON, ETRD, TX SUBJECT: MICROSOFT/POLIMEKS DEVELOPING TURKMEN DICTIONARY
REF: 08 ASHGABAT 483
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.
2. (SBU) Post has learned that Microsoft, with support from Turkish construction firm Policom Istanbul (known locally as "Polimeks"), has apparently agreed to develop a Turkmen language dictionary and relevant software in cooperation with the Supreme Council on Science and Technology (SCST) and Turkmenistan's Agricultural University. The project reportedly will be funded jointly by Polimeks and Microsoft over a 20-month period beginning in May 2009.
3. (SBU) The local representative of an international donor agency told Post that President Berdimuhamedov approved the proposal for Microsoft, with support from Polimeks, to develop the dictionary and relevant software. He then sent instructions to the SCST to implement the project. The Academy of Sciences' Translation and Dictionary Department and the Agricultural University's International Relations Department will assist in the project. According to our source, a meeting to discuss the project took place on January 24 between SCST Deputy Chairwoman Akjeren Allanurova and the following participants:
-- Isolina Pommier, Microsoft Strategy Manager (Redmond, Washington); -- Jim Levi, Microsoft Public Sector Regional Leader, Central & Eastern Europe (Germany); and -- Bora Kutla, Assistant General Manager, Policom Istanbul (Ashgabat).
4. (SBU) COMMENT: Our source, who maintains close contact with a range of government interlocutors, mentioned that the government partners for this project have questioned its potential value and the priority it has received. Taken in the context of Polimeks' business strategy and recent award to develop a "technopark" in Ashgabat, Polimeks' involvement appears to be an opportunistic business development effort presented to President Berdimuhamedov in an attempt to solidify its standing in the local market (reftel). At the same time, the project will provide Microsoft with solid foothold in Turkmenistan's small, but grossly underserved market. END COMMENT.
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