Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr. Tarek Kamel and Minister of Finance Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali are due to witness on Monday September 28th, 2009 the launch of e-signature services for the public and Private Sector.

The event will be also witnessed by first Assistant to Minister of State for Administrative development and representatives of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Ministry of Finance and private sector companies and banks.

Dr. Sherif Hashim, Vice Executive President of Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), noted that the E-Signature Law is the first Egyptian legislation for regulating electronic businesses.

The electronic signature is the pillar and greatest common factor in e-transactions, whether governmental, commercial or administrative ones, Dr. Hashim said.

Based on this law, electronic tools can be used in issuing and exchanging documents, preserving rights and maintaining credibility.

Until the law was issued, there was no such electronic documentation that could be used as a proof before court.

ITIDA issued the E-Signature Law as a bid to push forward the IT industry in Egypt and raise the country’s competitiveness and in turn put it on the map of IT services and applications exporters.

The law covers all civil, commercial and administrative transactions that can be undertaken electronically. Accordingly, it helps enhance the competence of administrative operations, put into force e-commerce and elevate the standard of governmental services.