The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie, and the Armed Forces Signal Corps Head Tarek El-Zaher have witnessed the signing of a contract between Telecom Egypt and Suez Canal Authority, in coordination with the Armed Forces Signal Corps, to create a new route for fiber optic internet cables between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean through Al Morshedeen Road.

The signing ceremony was attended by Telecom Egypt Managing Director and CEO Adel Hamed, the Assistant ICT Minister for Global Information Infrastructure Mohamed Nasr Eldin, and a number of officials from Suez Canal Authority and Telecom Egypt, at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) headquarters in Smart Village.

The contract aims to strengthen Egypt's international position as a major crossing point for international communications between Asia, Africa and Europe; and to take advantage of the unique geographical location of Suez Canal through creating several secure land routes on Al Morshedeen Road to further Egypt's development and pivotal role in the ICT industry.

The contract comes within the framework of the strategic and productive cooperation between the different vital State sectors. The contract represents the culmination of the protocol of cooperation between MCIT, Suez Canal Authority and the Signal Corps, which was also signed during the meeting.

Pursuant to the contract, the three sides will cooperate to lay fiber optic cables through Al Morshedeen Road in Suez Canal to connect Telecom Egypt’s infrastructure networks, and create a path for and enable the services of international cables. This comes as part of the efforts made to develop Telecom Egypt’s global infrastructure.

The step comes as part of Telecom Egypt’s strategic plan to take advantage of Suez Canal campus, which is highly secured and recognized as the shortest land route linking drop-off points in Suez and Port Said. The campus hence joins Telecom Egypt’s routes for connecting international communications between Asia, Africa and Europe, and linking those routes to the company’s infrastructure network. This is in addition to establishing an integrated, highly efficient ground network, thus augmenting Egypt's strategic position as a major crossing point for international communication cables.

For his part, the ICT Minister underscored that the new route will achieve a breakthrough, and strengthen Egypt's strategic and international position in the international submarine cable map as a golden route for the Global Information Infrastructure.

Talaat thanked Suez Canal Authority and the Signal Corps for their relentless efforts to reach the agreement that they have been working on for a long time, and would not have been possible if it was not for the sincere cooperation between the parties of the protocol.

Rabie stated that he is confident that the significant agreement will produce successful outcomes that will strengthen Egypt's international position in the ICT industry. He added that Suez Canal Authority spares no effort to actively contribute to any national project, in cooperation with different State sectors, to serve ambitious development goals.

For his part, El-Zaher referred to the efforts made by MCIT, Suez Canal Authority and Telecom Egypt to reach this protocol, which culminates the intense cooperation between the parties.

The contract was signed by the Head of Communications and Information Systems at Suez Canal Authority Hesham Abouel-Hassan, and Telecom Egypt Vice President, Chief International and Wholesale Officer Seif Allah Mounib, in the presence of the Armed Forces Signal Corps official Mohamed Ahmed Said.