COUNTRY FOCUS: EGYPT
A delegation from the company, which
specialises in building the capabilities
of software developers on the African
continent, met with Amr Talaat, the
Minister of Communications and
Information Technology.
During the meeting, Talaat welcomed the
executive steps taken by the company
towards setting up a headquarters in co-
operation with the Information Technology
Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) thus
providing job opportunities.
The possibility of establishing a regional
training institute for the company in the City
of Knowledge at the New Administrative
Capital was also discussed.
New capital
The New Administrative Capital is designed
to build a new capital city from scratch,
moving the Government away from Cairo
which is suffering from severe congestion
and overcrowding.
The city, located 45km east of Greater Cairo,
will feature a new presidential palace, a new
parliament, a central bank and business
district, an airport and a massive theme park,
alongside housing for 6.5 million people.
One of the main aims of Knowledge City
in the New Administrative Capital is to
become Egypt’s answer to Silicon Valley,
a place where the country’s potential to
export communications and IT services can
be maximised.
The strategy entails a number of
programmes that support the strategic
cybersecurity objectives. It emphasises the
distribution of roles among government
agencies, private sector, business institutions
and civil society, and the measures to be
established by the state to support progress
towards achieving these objectives.
In addition, the strategy outlines an action
plan for the years 2017–21. The plan has
been developed in line with these specified
objectives, emphasising the significance
of the partnership among government
agencies, private sector, business institutions
and civil society.
MCIT led efforts for the creation of a
supreme council for ICT infrastructure
protection – the Egyptian Supreme
Cybersecurity Council (ESCC).
It is comprised of stakeholders involved
in national security and infrastructure
management and operation in critical
sectors and public utilities, and experts
from the private sector and research and
educational entities.
ESCC was mandated with developing a
national strategy for cybersecurity and
confronting cyberattacks. It supervises
the implementation and updates of the
strategy, in order to keep up with successive
technological developments. n
“
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
WILL RESULT IN
IT PERVADING
EVERY ASPECT OF
EGYPTIAN LIFE.
In 2017, the Egyptian Parliament passed
legislation to create incentives to invest in
the country. The Government has invested
an estimated LE 12 billion to prepare
some areas of the new capital for the
manufacturing and software sectors.
Cybersecurity strategy
Late last year the Egyptian Supreme
Cybersecurity Council (ESCC) launched its
National Cybersecurity Strategy (2017–21),
aiming to provide a safe and secure
environment that would enable various
sectors to deliver integrated e-services, in line
with the state’s efforts to support national
security and develop Egyptian society.
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