Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, has met with Marc Baretti, the Ambassador of France in Cairo, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the fields of communications and information technology, and the potential for pumping more French investments into these sectors in Egypt.
The meeting was attended by Amr Mahfouz, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency, Sherine El Gendy; Assistant Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Strategy and Implementation; Fabio Grazi, Director of the French Agency for Development in Egypt; and Michel Oldenberg, Economic Adviser to the French Embassy in Cairo.
Talaat stressed that there are multiple files for cooperation in the field of communications and information technology between Egypt and France in light of many French ICT companies in the Egyptian market, as well as cooperation in the field of digital capacity building, artificial intelligence, smart cities, innovation and entrepreneurship.
He also pointed out that the Egyptian government provided many incentives that encourage attracting more foreign investments to Egypt, expressing his desire to increase French companies’ investments in the ICT sector. It was also agreed to hold a forum for French companies in Egypt to review the components of the sector and its promising investment opportunities.
For his part, the French ambassador in Cairo expressed his aspiration to activate the declaration of intent that was signed in the field of artificial intelligence between the Egyptian and French governments in October 2021, during the visit of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to the French capital, Paris.
The meeting also reviewed the mechanisms for enhancing joint cooperation between the two countries in the field of artificial intelligence and benefiting from French expertise in implementing the national strategy for artificial intelligence, in addition to supporting training programs at various levels.
It also tackled the best ways to enhance cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the French Development Agency to provide technical support for digital transformation projects in Egypt.
