Egypt aims to enhance contribution of IT sector to GDP: Talaat

Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, affirmed that Egypt’s digital strategy aims to enhance the contribution of the communications and information technology sector to the gross domestic product, attract foreign investments, and support Egypt’s capabilities in the field of international connectivity. This came in a speech delivered by Talaat during the meeting organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo.

Talaat explained the intensive efforts made by the ministry to enhance Egypt’s position as a leading destination for cross-border information technology services, which resulted in an increase in the volume of digital exports to reach $4.9bn, and the signing of agreements with 29 international companies that add export revenues worth $1bn annually by 2025 and provide 34,000 job opportunities for young people to serve global markets through 35 centres for exporting information technology services; referring to the investment incentives provided to international companies specialized in the field of cross-border services to encourage them to create new export-oriented job opportunities, in addition to providing training support incentives. He added that capacity-building programs are being implemented in the field of electronic design, which will contribute to increasing the number of specialists in this field by 65% by the end of 2023, thus contributing to attracting more electronic design centers and maximizing exports in this field.

He indicated that the communications and information technology sector achieved a growth rate of 16.3%. He explained the reform measures that have been taken to create a supportive environment for business development in the telecommunications and information technology sector, which include the issuance of the Information Technology Crimes Law and the Personal Data Protection Law.