The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has met with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Egypt Mariam Khalifa Al Kaabi. The aim was to discuss opportunities to attract Emirati investments to the Egyptian ICT sector and enhance cooperation between Egypt and the UAE in ICT fields, especially those related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and postal services.
At the beginning of the meeting, Talaat underlined that Egypt and the UAE have strong historical relations that represent a regional role model for Arab relations at all levels. He referred to the growth witnessed by Egypt's ICT sector and Egypt’s keenness to adopt new technologies and establish international partnerships to build Digital Egypt.
The ICT Minister showcased the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Egypt’s efforts to indigenize this important industry, including the implementation of a number of projects at the Applied Innovation Center (AIC) to find innovative solutions using AI technologies in various sectors, such as agriculture and health care.
Talaat also referred to the establishment of Egypt University of Informatics (EUI), which offers bachelor and master’s degrees in ICT fields, including computer engineering and AI, in cooperation with prestigious international universities. He also pointed out that Emirati students can enroll in the University and enjoy its educational services that match major global universities.
For her part, the UAE Ambassador expressed her interest in identifying investment opportunities in Egypt's ICT sector to share them with the UAE investment entities.
Al Kaabi commended Egypt’s experience in applied research, emphasizing the significance of joint work between Egypt and the UAE in implementing bilateral projects; taking part in AI-related events organized in both countries; and cooperating in smart agriculture projects.
The ICT Minister briefed the diverse investment opportunities in ICT sector, including investments in data centers, as Egypt has many competitive advantages in this industry due to its distinguished geographic location, connecting Asia and the West and hosting 13 submarine cables. These cables transmit more than 90% of the data traffic in Asia and Europe. He also pointed out that Emirati companies can be invited to invest in manufacturing cell towers and fiber-optic cables as well as in implementing joint projects using Internet of Things (IoI) technology.
The meeting discussed investment opportunities in startups in light of the efforts employed to launch a fund to support startups in the growth phase and support cooperation in electronics manufacturing and designing, especially with the availability of Egyptian calibers specialized in designing electronic circuits. The meeting also tackled enhancing cooperation in postal services between the two concerned governmental agencies in both countries, especially with regard to money transfer, parcels and postal correspondence.
Talaat also invited the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, through the UAE Ambassador, to visit Egypt to share visions and promote cooperation in AI.
The meeting was attended by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) CEO Amr Mahfouz.
