Egypt, represented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), hosted the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), on October 28- November 22, in Sharm El Sheikh, under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The WRC closing ceremony was held on November 22, chaired by the ICT Minister, in the presence of the ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. Talaat delivered a speech where he commended the success of the conference, and announced the launching of the first Egyptian communications satellite “TIBA-1” providing communication services for the government and commercial sectors.
The conference comprised a number of activities including the governments’ presentation and revision of the Radio Regulations (RR), an international treaty regulating the utilization of radio frequencies, the geostationary (GSO) and non-geostationary-satellite (Non-GSO) orbits. In addition, the WRC final outcome was announced as an international agreement named after the host country “Sharm El Sheikh Charter 2019”.
On the sidelines of the WRC, an exhibition was held comprising major ICT companies such as Facebook, Viasat, GSMA, Rohde & Schwarz, Iridium, as well as Egypt’s pavilion including major Egyptian ICT companies.
Moreover, Talaat met with the Special Assistant to the US President for Technology, Telecom, and Cyber-Security Policy at the National Economic Council Ambassador Grace Koh, on the sidelines of the WRC.
The two sides discussed the main topics of the WRC and the wish of all participating parties to develop services through advanced infrastructure and technologies that serve people and help achieve the economic development. In addition, they discussed the significance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and the possibility of joint cooperation in this important field, especially in light of establishing a research center for AI applications in the City of Knowledge in the New Administrative Capital.
The ICT Minister also met with the South African Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services Stella Abrahams. The former underlined Egypt’s keenness on cooperating with South Arica, in light of the former’s chairmanship of the AU in 2019. He presented the efforts and accomplishments achieved this year at the regional level, and said that the two countries have potentials that distinguish them in the ICT sector.
Furthermore, Talaat met with the Bulgarian Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov. They discussed cooperation and leveraging the two countries’ expertise in the ICT infrastructure and protecting it from cyberattacks. This comes as the two countries seek to harness 5G services, especially in developing industry, establishing smart cities and using the Internet of Things (IoT).
The WRC was preceded by the Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-19), on October 21-25, and followed by the first session of the Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) of the WRC-23, on November 25-26.
The number of participants of this year’s conference exceeded 3500 from 140 countries and more than 50 international companies and organizations specializing in ICT, recording the highest ever participation rate ever.
