Egypt's Minister of Local Development Manal Awad met with Jack Dangermond, Chairman of global geospatial technology company Esri, on the sidelines of the Esri User Conference 2025 in San Diego, California, the Cabinet has said in a statement. Awad emphasised the ministry's role in spearheading extensive spatial and economic development projects in Egypt's urban and rural areas, underscoring the importance of advanced technology and knowledge-based tools for data-driven decision-making. She stressed that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have evolved from technical tools into core components of local planning, decision-making, monitoring, and evaluation processes. Awad described Esri as a strategic partner capable of supporting the ministry in building an integrated knowledge infrastructure for managing development both locally and nationally, the report added. Awad also discussed the Egyptian Cities Atlas project, describing it as a national platform that uses spatial data to monitor urban performance indicators, identify development gaps, and track climate and demographic changes. She noted that the ministry aims to enhance the platform into a dynamic tool that enables predictive analytics, real-time updates, and improved investment and executive decision-making—powered by Esri's technology. The minister expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Esri across several local development programmes, including solid waste management, land encroachment monitoring, local asset management, and spatial change tracking. Dangermond praised Egypt's progress in integrating GIS into its development strategies and reaffirmed Esri's commitment to supporting Egypt through tailored solutions, knowledge exchange, and institutional capacity-building. Attribution: Amwal Ghad English Subediting: M. S. Salama
