Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has met with a number of Danish digital technology companies during an interactive video conference session. The meeting included discussions on cooperation opportunities and strengthening partnerships between the two countries in the field of digital technologies. It also looked into the development of the information technology (IT) market in Egypt and Denmark. The session was organised by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Trade Council, and took place in the presence of the country's Ambassador in Cairo Svend Olling. Also present was Amr Mahfouz, CEO of Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA). During the meeting, Talaat reviewed Egypt's digital strategy and the stages of its implementation. He explained that the number of digitised government services will reach 200 by the end of 2021, provided that all digitisation work for government services will be completed by 2022. He called on Danish companies to present their experiences and cooperation with Egypt in the field of digital transformation. The minister referred to Egypt's technological capacity building efforts, adding that the cooperation opportunities that could be achieved with Danish academic institutions in digital specialisations. He highlighted Misr University for Science and Technologies (MUST) and the numerous benefits it offers to its students. Talaat emphasised the state's keenness on building a strong data-based industry where modern technologies are localised. He also explained the efforts made in this regard by providing specialised technical training to build technological capabilities in several fields. These include artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and the Internet of Things (IoT), in addition to issuing a law on protecting personal data to support the Egyptian data industry. It is supported by strong infrastructure and fibre-optic cables that have been constructed on Egyptian territory, including its underwater capacities. Talaat stressed that Egypt seeks to create an attractive environment for investment. Furthermore, the communications and information technology (CIT) sector is one of the most promising sectors, especially with the state's trend toward building a strong digital economy. The sector is witnessing continuous growth, and has managed to achieve high performance rates at the economic level in last fiscal year (FY), compared to FY 2017/18. The growth rate has increased from 14.1% to 15.2%, and is expected to reach 16% in FY 2020/21. The volume of the sector's GDP increased from EGP 80.1bn to EGP 107.7bn, and its contribution to the state's GDP increased from 3.2% to 4.4%. Digital exports rose from $3.2bn to $4.1bn. For his part, Olling said that Denmark has experience in the field of digital transformation. He stressed that the Egyptian CIT sector enjoys continuous positive growth and serves all sectors of the state. It is also attractive for investments, and this supports the desired cooperation opportunities in the field of developing business and applying modern technologies between the two countries.
