Update January 2000: Egypt

The reshuffling of the Egyptian Cabinet which took place last October brought about the creation of a new ministry called the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information. The new ministry will strive to enhance the usage of technology and information systems in all government organizations. The ministry has already established four working groups which would handle the issues of drafting a new telecommunications law ; of assessing an integrated master plan for telecommunications in Egypt ; of marketing and pricing new telecommunications services and to develop a business plan for them and for human resource development in telecommunications and IT.

In line with the government’s announced IS strategy, the formation of the committee responsible for the national technology development program was recently completed. The said committee is composed of the president of Egypt, the ministers of information and communications, and of industry, and the chairmen of IDSC, CAPMAS, etc.

The purpose of this committee is to establish and develop the Egyptian information society by increasing and encouraging investments in the technology infrastructure (such as the telecommunications networks, the Internet, and telephone systems, and in the info-structure (e.g., the development of national databases in all the ministries and organizations).

Among the objectives of the committee is to invest 1.1 billion Egyptian pounds in the next five years on major information technology projects to position Egypt as a technology center in the Middle East region and Africa. This is expected to create new employment positions for Egyptian graduates, and to establish technology areas in the new industrial zones, as well as to promote the use of technology in all sectors whether private or public. The government foresees a return on investment of 1 billion Egyptian pounds at the end of the five years.