Dr. Tarek Mohamed Kamel Minister of Communications and Information Technology

Dr. Tarek Kamel has served as Egypt’s minister of communications and information technology since 2005. Prior to this, he was senior adviser to the minister of communications and information technology for five years. He has spearheaded numerous national initiatives to boost information and communications technology (ICT) use in all sectors of Egyptian society, and his efforts, along with those of Dr.Ahmed Nazif, constituted a major factor in the establishment of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Dr. Kamel began his career as a networks support engineer at the Academy of Technology and Scientific Research after receiving an engineering degree from Cairo University in 1985. He then swiftly moved to become an assistant researcher at the Electronics Research Institute before being granted a fellowship for PhD studies from the German Academic Exchange (DAAD) from 1989 to 1992. Awarded a doctorate in computer networking from Munich Technical University in 1992, he was appointed manager of the Communications and Networking Department at the Egyptian Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC/RITSEC). He was also chosen as secretary of the Egyptian Internet Society and served as a professor of computer networks at the Electronics Research Institute. In May 1999, Dr. Kamel became vice-president of these two organizations, and three years later a trustee of the Internet Society (ISOC), based in Virginia, USA. From 2000 to 2004, Dr. Kamel was a member of the board of Telecom Egypt, where he played a major role in the company’s development.

On the international level, Dr. Kamel is a renowned figure in the Internet world and a key player in fora debating the future of the Internet. In October 2006, he was a keynote speaker at the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held in Athens, Greece. He played an active role in all IGF proceedings and chaired the fourth Internet meeting, held in Sharm Al Sheikh in 2009. Dr. Kamel has launched various initiatives to increase Internet and broadband penetration in Egypt, Africa and the Arab world. In Egypt, he led efforts targeting the reform and deregulation of the ICT sector, leading it through double-digit growth. A firm supporter of the Internet industry, he can also be credited with introducing the country’s Internet Policy.

Believing in the importance of public-private partnership for the development of the ICT sector, Dr. Kamel has encouraged ICT stakeholders to take part in new initiatives for developmental purposes. Initiatives he has launched include the Egyptian Education Initiative (EEI) and Egypt’s Health Initiative, a part of the Global Health Initiative. The success of public-private partnership has played no small part in Egypt’s successful entry into the global information society.

Dr. Kamel served as chairman of the Executive Bureau of the Arab Telecommunications and Information Council of Ministers from 2004 to 2008. He has also served as chairman of the Ministerial Conference on Communication and Information Technologies of the African Union (2006-2008). In recognition of his leadership in the ICT sector, the South African Ministry of Communications in 2005 named him “Top Minister in Africa with an ICT Portfolio”.

Dr. Kamel chairs the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) and the Information Technology Institute (ITI). He also led efforts to establish the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), which plays a pivotal role in the development of Egypt’s ICT sector.