Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, has unveiled the ministry’s strategic plans to build a digital Egypt, shifting the sector from a service-oriented to a service-production model. During a meeting with the Communications and Information Technology Committee of the Egyptian Parliament, chaired by Ahmed Badawy, Talaat outlined key initiatives and legislative reforms aimed at enhancing Egypt’s digital landscape.
Talaat highlighted the sector’s evolution from merely providing communication services to also focusing on increasing digital exports, creating job opportunities, and attracting foreign investment. He emphasized Egypt’s move into electronics manufacturing, particularly mobile phones and fiber optic cables, as part of an effort to reduce imports and boost exports.
“The sector is now a service-production sector,” Talaat stated. “We are successfully attracting major global mobile phone manufacturers to start production in Egypt.”
Talaat also outlined the ministry’s legislative agenda, which includes the Data Classification and Exchange Law that will regulate data sharing between state entities, and the National Property ID Law, designed to assign a unique identification number to each property, eliminating street name duplications. The property ID law is finalized and will soon be presented to Parliament.
Additionally, Talaat revealed that the ministry is collaborating with the Ministry of Finance to simplify tax procedures for freelancers, encouraging youth to enter the freelance market. He stressed the importance of engaging with companies in Egypt’s ICT sector through public discussions on these new laws.
As part of ongoing efforts to improve the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, Talaat announced plans to complete the construction of mobile towers in villages covered by the “Hayah Karima” initiative and expand mobile network coverage along highways by the first quarter of next year. He also mentioned the ministry’s steps to improve telecom services, tackle nuisance calls, and streamline processes for switching between mobile networks without changing phone numbers.
Talaat further noted the expansion of Egypt’s postal network, with the number of post offices increasing from 3,600 in 2018 to 4,850 today. The development plan aims to modernize the Egyptian Postal Service and equip offices with cutting-edge technology.
Ahmed Badawy, Chairperson of the Communications and Information Technology Committee in Parliament, praised the cooperation between the ministry and the committee. He commended the ministry’s efforts to attract investments in mobile phone manufacturing and its focus on expanding digital skills initiatives and applied technology schools.
