The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has met with the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication in the Kingdom of Bahrain Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed, on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. The meeting discussed investment opportunities and enhancing cooperation in ICT.
At the beginning of the meeting, Talaat emphasized the close relations between the two countries, that serve as an exemplary model for Arab-Arab relations at different levels. He said that he looks forward to strengthening ties between Egypt and Bahrain in ICT, given the ICT sector’s pivotal role in reaching a comprehensive digital society and achieving sustainable development.
The meeting addressed enhancing cooperation in data centers, digital transformation, and digital government services. It also examined investment and cooperation opportunities in the outsourcing industry, with companies establishing regional centers of excellence (CoEs) in Egypt to export ICT services to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In addition to discussing cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurship, the two sides talked supporting leading Egyptian companies specializing in advanced technology, to be based in Bahrain. They also agreed to arrange an official visit for Bahraini officials to Cairo to explore closely the Egyptian efforts in incubating tech startups.
Moreover, the two ministers discussed cooperation in infrastructure, post and in empowering persons with disabilities (PwDs) using ICT, along with employing Artificial Intelligence applications in the government. This is in addition to achieving human development, capitalizing on training institutes in the two countries. Other discussion points included exchanging knowledge on the strategy and initiatives of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) to build digital capabilities and use various electronic platforms in online training.
Talaat and Mohammed talked about Egypt University of Informatics (EUI), that MCIT established in the Knowledge City in the New Administrative Capital. EUI is aimed at providing world-class education and scientific research and granting a dual bachelor’s degree with major international universities. Talaat invited Bahraini students to study at the University.
The CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) Amr Mahfouz, the Assistant ICT Minister for Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Mohamed Nasr, the Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt Adel Hamed, and ENPO Vice Chairman for Digital Transformation Ehab Abu Bakr attended the meeting.
Furthermore, the ICT Minister met with the President and Head of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics Roh Tae-moon and officials from the company. They discussed expanding Samsung’s global investments in Egypt and strengthening cooperation within the framework of the Egypt Makes Electronics (EME) presidential initiative.
During the meeting, Talaat highlighted that Samsung is a strategic partner for the Egyptian government in achieving digital transformation in education through manufacturing educational tablets.
The meeting discussed boosting tablet production to cover the needs of the local market and export to the neighbouring countries benefiting from free trade agreements with Egypt, along with considering manufacturing mobile phones.
Talaat presented Egypt’s efforts to indigenize the electronics industry. He invited Samsung to be part of the electronics innovation hub that MCIT is building in the Knowledge City in the New Administrative Capital. The hub will act as an integrated work environment and will be equipped with a smart infrastructure to support designing electronics.
Mahfouz and Nasr attended the meeting.
The ICT Minister, also, attended a reception where King Felipe VI of Spain welcomed the heads of the delegations participating in MWC.
In addition, Talaat participated in the “Digital Inclusion: What will it take to get everyone connected?” session. It discussed the future of the global ICT industry, the future plans for the development of the industry, the role of technology in shaping the future, and key issues such as climate change. The Director General of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Mats Granryd and officials and leaders of global ICT companies attended the session.
It is worth noting that Egypt is participating with a high-level delegation from MCIT, headed by the ICT Minister, in MWC Barcelona—the flagship global annual event for mobile phones and related industries.
