The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has delivered a talk, via videoconference, in a roundtable at the 25th Session of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD).
The Session was held with the participation of various government officials and representatives of international organizations to follow up on the progress made at the regional and international levels, regarding the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
The ICT Minister emphasized that environmentally-friendly policies are being adopted in all activities and initiatives of the ICT sector to mitigate the effects of climate change. He explained that a plan to develop ICT infrastructure is being implemented in more than 4,500 villages over three years within the Decent Life initiative. These villages are being equipped with fiber optic cables as part of the efforts to protect the environment. Fiber optic cables consume 12 times less energy to transmit data than copper cables.
A national strategy for smart and sustainable cities is being prepared in light of the quest to equip new cities with environmentally-friendly infrastructure and technologies. Talaat pointed to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) endeavor to develop data centers according to green standards and regulations.
The ICT Minister discussed the most important developments in using ICT to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development in Egypt, in light of the implementation of the Digital Egypt strategy.
In his talk, Talaat invited the participants to attend the 27th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 27) hosted by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh next November, to review how to maximize the role of the ICT sector in the environment pillar.
Talaat also highlighted the efforts made to achieve digital inclusion in education and training as one of the national priorities. Furthermore, Egypt University of Informatics (EUI) was established in the Knowledge City in the New Administrative Capital. EUI is the first university specializing in ICT in Africa and the Middle East. EUI aims to provide education and scientific research at a global level and provide consultancy and capacity-building programs, contributing to human, social and economic development in Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa.
The ICT Minister referred to the “Mahara-Tech” platform, which offers free, high-quality training courses in Arabic in various emerging technological fields, as an example to be followed in digital inclusion. The percentage of women participating in the platform is 55% and extends geographically to cover 65% of all governorates.
The ICT Minister noted that the Future Work is Digital (FWD) initiative was launched to enable youth to obtain jobs in digital business and freelancing provided by leading technology companies online around the world.
Talaat indicated that Egypt's National Digital Development Report 2021 is currently being prepared as part of the Arab Digital Development Report (ADDR) 2021 of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), with the participation of 31 relevant ministries and governmental and non-governmental authorities.
Furthermore, the analysis of the ICT role has been monitored at the horizontal level in achieving sustainable development, empowering citizens, ensuring inclusiveness of societies, leaving no one behind, and the implications of digital technologies on various sectors of the economy. Talaat emphasized MCIT efforts to benefit from the experiences of countries and to seek effective international cooperation at all levels.
The roundtable was moderated by CSTD Vice-Chair. It was joined by the Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Malcolm Johnson, the Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure of The Gambia Ebrima Sillah, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy) Chris Philp and the Undersecretary for Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Philippines Rowena Cristina Guevara, in addition to several officials from international organizations and companies.
