Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel met Uganda Minister of Communications Mr. Hun Augri Ori today. A number of Egyptian ICT leaders, the Egyptian ambassador, as well as Egyptian businessmen attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the strategy of the Egyptian ICT sector and the most crucial policies contributing, socially and economically, to the sustainable development process for Egyptians were discussed.
During the meeting, Dr. Tarek Kamel maintained that the Egyptian communications sector will provide necessary support and expertise through the ambitious Egyptian communication sector initiative prepared specifically to meet the basic needs of communications sector in Nile Basin countries.
Following the meeting, the Egyptian delegation headed by the minister held an extended discussion session. The session aimed at studying means of reinforcing cooperation between the two countries, in the field of information security and the expertise to be provided by Egypt in this respect. Discussions also tackled potential cooperation in the field of outsourcing services in which Egypt is among the leading countries in Africa and the Middle East.
It is worth mentioning that Egypt is greatly interested in information security and internet issues of great importance. Egypt has immensely succeeded in this respect through the Egyptian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).
During the discussions, Ugandan officials expressed their respect of Egypt's achievements in these fields and their need to benefit from Egyptian expertise in this field.
Egyptian expertise specifically in the field of outsourcing is expected to boost the Ugandan communications sector and support investment opportunities between the two countries to a great extent.
Following discussions, Dr. Tarek Kamel announced an ambitious plan to train Ugandan communications sector cadres through Egyptian institutes or by sending specialist Egyptian trainees to Uganda to undertake this mission. It is expected that this plan covers 3 thousand Ugandan trainees till 2012.
In addition, Minister of ICT and his accompanying delegation reviewed the Egyptian experience in the field of building smart villages. He also said that it is possible to help Uganda in this respect as smart villages represent one of the modern experiences upholding investment and creating more space for growth and development of communications sectors in Nile Basin countries.
The Ugandan side expressed appreciation of the Egyptian offer and maintained it is fully convinced of the importance of such technological areas in Uganda.
At the end of the first day of discussions, a round table was held with Egyptian and Ugandan businessmen attending. Egypt was represented in these meetings by a group of companies including RAYA, Etisalat, Egypt Telecom, E-tech Group, and a number of specialized companies.
