Etisalat yesterday repeated last year's success at the most important annual gathering of the telecommunications industry by winning a major award for innovation. The Middle East's leading telecommunications operator won in the "Best Near Field Communication/Mobile Money Product" category at the GSMA's Global Mobile Awards 2013 during the Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain, from February 25 to 28, adding to three awards from the industry's most prestigious competition last year. "It's tremendous to be recognised in this way at the most important event in the global telecoms calendar," said Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, the Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Group - who heads a delegation from 15 countries and three continents. "Giving communities the technology that enables their economies - and therefore societies - to progress is one of our core missions and winning this award is a sign that we're on the right track." The winning product, Etisalat Commerce Programme - Flous, is an application for conducting a variety of financial transactions with a mobile device. It was also nominated for a prize in the "Most Innovative Mobile Application" category. "Flous" is Arabic for "money". Mr Julfar added: "This award will motivate us to keep to keep innovating and introducing products that give entrepreneurs the tools they need to achieve their goals anywhere in the world."