The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Khaled Negm has received Sunday the Chairman of US-Egypt Business Council (USEBC) Steve Lotus, and the chairman of American Chamber of Commerce in Washington. The meeting comes in the wake of the success of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) through its participation in the work of Egypt-US strategic dialogue which was hosted in Cairo last week, and was chaired by the two foreign ministers. Lotus expressed his thanks to the ICT Minister on the efforts and the role played by MCIT at the national, African and international levels, which emerged clearly during the discussions conducted in the strategic dialogue between the two countries. The meeting also comes within the spectrum of Lotus's keenness to get acquainted with MCIT strategic vision for the sector in the coming period, and how the US side can cooperate with Egypt to contribute to increasing economic growth in the ICT field in Egypt. For his part, Negm welcomed the meeting and underlined the importance of Egypt-US partnership in ICT field, especially the business sector, as most international companies operating in Egypt are of US nationality. During the meeting, Negm also reviewed his plan and vision for the sector as one of the pillars of development in Egypt. He discussed how ICT sector can contribute to the advancement of health and education sectors and various sectors' infrastructure, as the sector is characterized by its ability to provide innovative solutions to meet any challenges. The meeting has also tackled the state's plan regarding the transition to a digital society, at all levels, through the Higher Council for Digital Community headed by the prime minister, which aims to make Egypt a state built on digital and knowledge-based economy. The two sides have also discussed the signed memorandum of understanding (MoU)which support entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses, under which US experiences in this area will be transferred to Egypt. New paragraphs have been added to the MoU, already signed, to reflect the current requirements and needs of Egypt's society and contribute to increasing employment opportunities and reducing unemployment. The US side underlined the importance of cooperation in these two fields and on its support to Egypt and willingness to build a true partnership in this area. Negm has also reviewed with Lotus MCIT plan for deploying Internet, and increasing its speed in addition to price cut without undermining service quality as he hopes to increase the ratio of Internet users in Egypt to 50% from 34% by next year by means of increasing speed and reducing prices. Furthermore, Negm presented Egypt's successful experience in the field of outsourcing, not only in the area of call centers, but also in auditing and operation. He hopes, through offering investment opportunities in the new technology parks nationwide, to create new job opportunities in several governorates.
