The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has delivered a speech during the reception organized by Egypt by the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA). The reception has been held within the ICT Minister's effective participation in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 (PP-22) to support Egypt’s ITU candidates.
 
The ICT Minister highlighted Egypt’s keenness, since joining the ITU Council, to support the ITU vision and its role in the fast-growing and developing ICT sector.
 
The ICT Minister pointed to Egypt’s nomination for the ITU Council Membership for Africa (Region D) for the next four years as well as the nomination of NTRA candidate El-Sayed Azzouz as a member of the Radio Regulations Board (RRB), in the elections held on the sidelines of ITU PP-22, from September 26 to October 14, in Bucharest, Romania.
 
The reception was attended by the Egyptian Ambassador to Romania Moayad Eldalie, ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, NTRA CEO Hossam El-Gamal, Assistant ICT Minister for Strategy and Implementation Sherine El-Guindy, Assistant ICT Minister for Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Mohamed Nasr Eldin, various officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), directors of ITU Bureaus, and several envoys and experts from all over the world.
 
In his speech, Talaat hailed ITU efforts in enhancing cooperation among the Member States. He thanked the directors of ITU Bureaus for their tireless efforts over the past four years. He also emphasized the significance of ITU cooperation to bridge the digital divide and face challenges to reach an open, free, and secure digital future for all.
 
The ICT Minister highlighted Egypt’s keenness, during its ITU Council membership, to represent and express the aspirations of Africa. ITU provides an effective platform for public and private sector members, he explained, to discuss significant topics related to the ICT sector. He pointed out that Egypt’s priority issues include achieving digital transformation and harnessing technology to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 
Talaat also referred to Egypt’s interest in promoting digital transformation as an essential pillar for achieving progress and development. A strategy is being implemented to build Digital Egypt, which includes projects to develop the ICT infrastructure and enhance e-government services.
 
Talaat highlighted Egypt’s interest in enhancing the ICT role in facing global challenges, such as climate change, since Egypt will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, next November.
 
For his part, Zhao commended Egypt’s effective role and efforts with the  ITU . He explained that Egypt has been an effective member of the ITU Council since 1973 and emphasized the significance of this role in supporting ITU activities and work aimed at developing the ICT sector.
 
It is noteworthy that Egypt is a member of the ITU Region D for 2018-2022 and several previous sessions.