Communications minister says working to build digital Egypt

CAIRO - 8 February 2021: The Communications Ministry is acting for Egypt to go digital through providing advanced online services to citizens, said Amr Taalat.

The communications minister, in his statement at the House of Representatives Sunday, said his Ministry has made great strides in terms of automated services.
 

He posted MPs on completed projects to build a digital infrastructure through an interconnected database of citizen-government services and automated government procedures.
 

An electronic portal has already been launched with the aim to provide 45 different services to citizens, Talaat said as he reviewed the implementation of a 2018-2020 government program.  
 

The goal is to build a digital community to provide government services online, the minister said, adding that 21 new e-services will be launched during the first quarter of this year.

With 16 percent growth rate achieved during the current fiscal year, communications is the biggest sector in Egypt in terms of growth, Talaat told parliament. 

The gross domestic product (GDP) of the sector increased from 80.1 billion pounds in 2017-2018 to 93.5 billion in 2018-2019 and up to 107.7 billion in 2020, the minister explained.
 

Also, digital exports upped from 3.2 billion dollars three years ago to 4.1 billion in 2020, he added.
 

On the Network Readiness Index (NRI), Egypt jumped up from level 92 last year to level 84 this year, Talaat said.

Fifty new databases have been added in partnership with the Administrative Control Authority (ACA), bringing the total to 75, the minister told the House. 

He added that his Ministry is working with all state sectors to achieve digital transformation, especially where government services and performance are concerned. 

Worth three billion pounds, a project is underway to automate government services offered through Egypt’s digital portal, post offices, government service centers and a call center (15999), said Talaat. 

He also touched upon initial training programs on digital literacy offered at the different youth centers, in addition to medium-level technology training programs given at Telecom Egypt’s School for Applied Technology. This is done as part of a plan to build IT skills of Egyptian youth, he noted. 

He also talked about higher education in the field of advanced technologies, noting that a specialized IT university is being established in the New Capital and will be the first such university in Africa and the Middle East region. 

Also, master’s degrees are being given to 1,000 students every year as part of an “Egypt Builders” digital initiative, the minister further said.  

Work is also underway to establish a skills bank, which should serve as a database of experts to be available for employers to choose the best candidates for jobs, Talaat added.

On the Government AI Readiness Index, Egypt has moved to level 56 up from level 111 in 2019, said a proud Talaat. 

A national strategy on artificial intelligence has been outlined in cooperation with the Higher Education Ministry, he told parliament, adding that a national AI council has also been formed. 
 

Talaat said his Ministry established an applied research center with the aim to develop AI solutions to support the different sectors, such as health, agriculture, urban planning and economy. A technical center has already been established to serve persons with special needs, he added.

Themed “Our Digital Chance”, an initiative has been launched with the aim to help small and medium-sized companies, as well as freelancers, grab up their suitable projects, the minister said, noting that 16 ventures have already been allocated for such firms at a total cost of 44 million pounds.

Egypt, Talaat told MPs, has also jumped to the first position in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in terms of the number of investment deals sealed with its emerging companies. Egypt came second where the volume of investments is concerned though, he added.
 

In 2019, the Communications Ministry started to implement a plan to upgrade the efficiency of the internet network at a total cost of 30 billion pounds, Talaat said. So far, the plan has helped Egypt move from the 40th position with 6.5 MW/second in January 2019 up to the fourth position with 34.9 MW/second in December 2020 where landline internet speed in Africa is concerned, he explained.

Talaat said that the first phase of a plan to bring the IT infrastructure in Egyptian villages up to code should start later this year in 51 municipalities.

The point is to connect the villages with optical fiber cables in order to upgrade the efficiency of internet services delivered to some one million houses at about 5.6 billion pounds, the minister explained.
 

The Ministry also seeks to improve the quality of communications services in the villages through establishing 1,000 cellular network plants costing about five billion pounds, he added.