Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser al-Qadi said on Monday that the ministry will implement a strategy to turn Egypt into a regional and global hub for data.
During a conference titled the Future of Data, Qadi added that the strategy is based on two important hubs, namely the attraction of investments and to attract global data centers which could utilize the geographic location of Egypt in the middle of globe and the passage of 17 marine cables through the country’s waters to connect the East with the West.
Qadi asserted that the strategy was submitted to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who pays great attention to the information and communication technology sector because it has contributed to the improvement of living standards for Egyptian people.
The sector achieved a growth rate at 12.5 percent and contributed to 3.5 percent of the Growth Domestic Product (GDP) over the last three years. Exports of information technology increased to US$3.25 billion in 2017 compared to US$1.8 billion in 2016.
Qadi pointed out that the House of Representatives will discuss several new laws to ease up investment in the ICT sector, notably the Freedom of Information Circulation Law and Cyber Crime Law.
Edited translation from al-Masry al-Youm
