Egypt eyes the production of digital technology and IT: Deputy Minister of Planning

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, represented by Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning, participated recently in the side event under the title "Industrialization in the Digital Age: Key Findings and Visions from the Industrial Development Report 2020".The United Nations Industrial Development Organization "UNIDO" organized this event within the activities of the 53rd session of the African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Conference via video conference.Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development asserted the Egyptian state’s interest in implementing a comprehensive digital transformation in all fields.Kamali explained that there is an increasing demand for technology use in all sectors, indicating the importance of the transformation from consumers of technology to producers of technology.He added that Egypt is focusing on shifting towards the production of digital technology and information technology.Kamali pointed to the Egyptian state’s interest in supporting training and vocational education, pointing to the establishment of 9 technology universities in Egypt, noting that the communications and information technology sector in Egypt has enjoyed a double-digit growth rate over the past three years.Kamali explained that the rate of government investment directed to this sector amounts to approximately 6.7% of the total investments in Egypt, and the largest percentage of it is directed to infrastructure and improving the networking of the information technology sector in Egypt.Kamali also stated that the rate of foreign direct investment directed to this sector amounted to 3.7% of the total investments during the fiscal year 2019/2020, and therefore work must be done to increase this percentage.Kamali pointed to the Egyptian state’s interest in achieving digital transformation within the education system by developing the pre-university education system to rely on information technology and creative thinking. Kamali also pointed out the Egyptian state’s tendency to establish technological centers to serve citizens to facilitate the provision of government services to citizens in a faster time.Kamali pointed out that the experience of establishing technological centers was beneficial because it is based on the concept of digital transformation that establishes the principle of governance, seeks to eliminate corruption, and reduces human interference in government transactions.Kamali added that the Egyptian state is also working on using technology in the application of social protection by using automated cards to direct subsidies to those who deserve it, and the Egyptian state also uses satellite technology to monitor the status of national projects that are being worked on.Kamali stressed that the emergence of the Corona pandemic contributed to highlighting the importance of digital transformation, and the pandemic also intensified the country's efforts to implement digital transformation in various fields, indicating the need for African countries to strongly move towards digital transformation and to increase investment in it.Kamali ended his speech by referring to the “Digital Divide” and its effect on the exacerbation of inequality between regions in one country, one country, or even between different countries.Therefore, work must be done to bridge this gap by increasing investments in this vital sector, in addition to improving the availability of technological means to include all groups of society.