Egypt’s minister unveils plans to boost AI industry

Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), attended the closing ceremony of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Capacity Building Initiative round one.

The initiative was held on Tuesday at Giza CREATIVA Innovation Hub, in collaboration with the ICT ministry and Dell Technologies – Egypt, according to a press release.

Batch one included 500 students from Cairo University, Ain Shams University, the American University in Cairo (AUC), the German University in Cairo (GUC), as well as the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT).

During his speech, Talaat noted that the initiative focuses on the ICT field, particularly AI. He indicated that Egypt held the seventh position on the Global AI Index by Tortoise Media. The country also climbed 17 spots on the AI skills index.

Talaat highlighted the Arab Republic’s efforts to promote the deployment of AI. The country plans to establish a national council that brings together key players in the AI industry.

The minister also underlined that the key to success in the ICT field is harnessing technology to make an impact and tackle society's challenges in different sectors.

Talaat pointed out that the ministry develop CREATIVA Innovation Hubs to boost the ICT sector, adding that six hubs were initially established, and in two years, there were 12 hubs. By the end of 2023, there will be 20 hubs across 20 governorates in the African country, according to the minister.