U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach visited Cairo from Wednesday, 21 October, to Friday, 23October, to discuss the importance of ensuring the security of telecommunications infrastructure with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for International and Regional Multilateral Economic Affairs Omar Abou Eich, and CEO of Telecom Egypt Adel Hamed.
Under Secretary Krach highlighted the Clean Network initiative, a comprehensive approach to safeguarding sensitive information from aggressive intrusions by malign foreign actors. Krach highlighted the U.S.-Egypt strategic partnership and encouraged Egypt to join more than 40 countries and 50 telecommunications companies in the Clean Network by excluding untrusted, high-risk vendors in its next generation telecommunications infrastructure.
Under Secretary Krach said, “Egypt is a strong partner of the United States. Our countries have a close relationship—both economically and strategically. That’s why I wanted to come here and talk to government officials and businesspeople about the importance of securing 5G and the technologies of the future through the Clean Network. Defending Egyptian digital sovereignty from malign actors is a matter of national security.”
In addition to his meetings with the Government of Egypt, Undersecretary Krach met with representatives from the Board and Digital Transformation Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, reflecting the essential role of the private sector in securing the next generation of telecommunications networks.
