The Mobile World Congress (MWC 2022) was organized by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), on February 28- March 3, in Barcelona, Spain. MWC is the world’s most influential event for the connectivity industry. It was attended by global mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors, and content owners.
The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat participated in MWC, heading a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).
During MWC, Talaat participated in several events. He attended a reception where King Felipe VI of Spain welcomed the heads of the delegations participating in the Congress.
The ICT Minister also participated in a session titled “Digital Inclusion: What will it take to get everyone connected?” 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. In addition, he participated in a ministerial session on methods for developing digital policies to respond to climate challenge.
On the sidelines of his participation in MWC, the ICT Minister met with his counterparts in different countries. He met with the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunication in the Kingdom of Bahrain Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed to discuss investment opportunities and enhancing cooperation in ICT. Talaat also met with his Palestinian counterpart Ishaq Sidr to discuss enhancing cooperation in the ICT field.
Moreover, Talaat met with the Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Ahmed Qasim Hanandeh. They discussed enhancing cooperation in different areas: digital infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, capacity building, and entrepreneurship. This is in addition to exchanging experiences between Egypt Post and Jordan Post.
The ICT Minister also met with the Minister of ICT and Innovation of Rwanda Paula Ingabire. They discussed fostering cooperation in ICT areas, including digital transformation, innovation, entrepreneurship and the post.
Furthermore, Talaat held several meetings with executives and senior officials from several multinational companies specializing in ICT and mobile phone industry.
He 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.
The ICT Minister also held a meeting with the President of Tech Mahindra’s Communications, Media and Entertainment and CEO Network Services Manish Vyas. The meeting discussed cooperation in outsourcing and a plan to organize an official visit for the company’s delegation to Egypt.
Talaat also met with the Founder and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises Sunil Bharti Mittal to discuss cooperation in submarine cables. The meeting discussed the possibility of Telecom Egypt providing integrated solutions through its extensive network of submarine cables and its multiple and secure international infrastructure.
Additionally, the ICT Minister held a meeting with the Founder and CEO of Sterlite Technologies (STL) Ankit Agarwal to discuss investment opportunities in Egypt in fiber optic cables. He also met with the CEO of Etisalat Group Hatem Dowidar to discuss boosting the company’s investments in Egypt.
Talaat also held a meeting with President of Huawei Northern Africa Region Terry HE. The meeting discussed advancing cooperation in developing communications infrastructure networks, honing digital skills, and using Huawei’s green ICT technologies to support the efforts made in this field, especially with Egypt preparing to host the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is in addition to discussing promoting cooperation in the fields of cloud computing and AI.
Furthermore, the ICT Minister met with Microsoft Corporate Vice President Francesco Venturini. They discussed the company's plans to support the digital solutions based on advanced ICT infrastructure and to forge more partnerships with the Egyptian government.
He also held a meeting with the CEO of Cisco Systems Chuck Robbins; they discussed opportunities for expansion of Cisco investments in Egypt.
In addition, the ICT Minister met with OPPO Vice President of Overseas Sales and Service Billy Zhang. The meeting discussed pumping investments in the field of electronics manufacturing through establishing a mobile phone factory for OPPO in Egypt.
Moreover, Talaat witnessed the signing of two cooperation agreements. He witnessed the signing of a landing party agreement between Telecom Egypt and AFR-IX Telecom, a Barcelona-based infrastructure and telecom operator. The agreement is aimed at creating a landing point in Egypt for Medusa, a major submarine cable system in the Mediterranean.
The ICT Minister also witnessed the signing of an agreement between Telecom Egypt and Huawei to establish its first storage Point of Presence (PoP) in Egypt, in Telecom Egypt’s regional data center in Smart Village.
