The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has received the Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Oka Hiroshi. The aim was to discuss opportunities to attract Japanese investments to the Egyptian ICT sector and enhance cooperation between Egypt and Japan in ICT fields, especially those related to technology indigenizing and capacity building.
During the meeting, The ICT Minister underlined that Egypt and Japan have distinguished and strong political and economic relations and explained the state's efforts to establish an integrated digital society and build Digital Egypt. He said that he looks forward to cooperation with Japan in the ICT field through exchanging experiences and transferring knowledge to indigenize technology.
The meeting included a review of the proposed areas of cooperation, most notably attracting Japanese companies to invest in the Egyptian ICT sector in several areas, including electronics manufacturing, outsourcing services, and CREATIVA Innovation Hubs. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) establishes the Hubs in different governorates to provide technology training and promote technological innovation and entrepreneurship among youth.
Talaat and Hiroshi addressed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will be signed between Egypt and Japan to enhance cooperation in the ICT field. In addition, they discussed cooperating to prepare professionals to cover the needs of the local market, serve Digital Egypt projects and enhance young people’s competitiveness in global markets. This comes as MCIT adopts a strategy to build the digital capabilities of various segments of society on multiple levels.
Moreover, the two sides agreed on boosting cooperation between Japanese ICT universities and Egypt University of Informatics (EUI)—established by MCIT at the Knowledge City in the New Administrative Capital. This is in addition to establishing cooperation with Digital Egypt Builders Initiative (DEBI), which grants master's degrees in in-depth technological disciplines.
For his part, Hiroshi stated that his country looks forward to signing the MoU with MCIT and to collaborating effectively in the themes that will be included in the MoU, including several areas of common interest, most notably: communications, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and postal services.
Talaat commended the efforts exerted for coordination with MCIT and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to organize an online forum for Japanese companies to explore the potentials of the Egyptian ICT market and the relevant major national projects and initiatives.
