Egyptian Minister of Communications Yasser ElKady received Monday a delegation of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Headed by UNCTAD IT Policy Sector Director Torp Yorn, the delegation is currently visiting Egypt to participate in developing a strategy for promoting e-commerce in the country under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and with the support of MasterCard Worldwide. The delegation's visit to Egypt will remain for several days to meet with various entities concerned with developing e-commerce in Egypt. The delegation will also meet a number of private sector companies working in the same field. The significance of developing an e-commerce strategy in Egypt lies in the expected economic and social return resulting from promoting this kind of commerce. E-commerce contributes to increasing internal trade in Egypt and enhancing Egypt's exports, especially the goods where Egypt enjoys a competitive advantage. It also creates jobs for youth and promotes their creativity and entrepreneurship. Moreover, e-commerce encourages small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to work in the field of e-commerce, and contribute, even if partially, in solving some of the chronic problems from which Egypt suffers, such as the problem of traffic congestion as consumers would turn to online shopping, as well as pollution problems as it would reduce traffic flow. In this regard, MCIT Information Center Director and the e-Commerce Committee Supervisor Nagwa El-Shenawi stated that despite of the large number of Egypt's Internet users in the Middle East, which represent 31% of the population, e-commerce in Egypt still needs great efforts to be developed. This will be attained through a focus on increasing sales of Egypt's products, produced by small manufacturers nationwide, where Egypt enjoys a high competitive advantage. El-Shenawi also added that the Internet helps provide greater opportunity for those manufacturers to get access to regional and global markets and promote their products using the latest ICT applications. It also helps to reach the largest number of consumers inside and outside Egypt, encouraging them to buy these products in light of the availability of a safe technology environment and rules and laws protecting consumers and regulating the relationship between those consumers and the companies operating in this field.
