CAIRO: The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and several Chinese companies signed an agreement to start producing mobile phones in Egypt for domestic use and for export. The $50 million agreement will establish a joint research and development center dedicated to the enhancement of mobile phone functions. The contract was signed by Shenzhen s Mayor Xu Zongheng and Ahmed Abu Talib, the director of technological industries development programs at ITIDA. "The aim of the joint project is to produce mobile phones with functions that complement Arab users, such as an Arabic menu, ITIDA officials said. The Chinese delegation of investors visited the ITIDA premises and met with ITIDA Head Mohamed Omran, who explained the benefits of investing in Egypt. The 33-company delegation said that Egypt could be the "China of the Middle East. These companies produce, as a whole, a total of 150,000 mobile phones daily. "Chinese investment in Egypt is proof of the nation's strategy to develop the electronic manufacturing and to encourage self-dependency in a booming industry, said Dalia Gamal of ITIDA. Despite the benefits of the Egyptian-Chinese agreement, the quality of the mobile phones remains a concern. In August, the Ministry of Trade and Industry received complaints about the quality of Chinese imports quality. As a result, the ministry formed a supervisory committee to ensure that the quality of Chinese products is on a par with World Trade Organization standards. "Although the Chinese are very advanced in manufacturing electronic products, we all know that Chinese products tend to stop working a few months after they are purchased, said Ahmed Heshmat, an information technical supervisor and expert. Some experts and consumers believe that Chinese products are not reliable and that choosing China to manufacture "Egyptian mobiles, might not be a wise decision. Nevertheless, the mobile phones are guaranteed to be cheaper than international mobile phones, mainly because they will be produced domestically using cheap Chinese and Egyptian labor. "Consumers will buy the mobile phones for their cheap prices, but their turnover rate will be very high, which is what producing corporations want, Heshmat added. ITIDA defended the agreement, saying China is one of the leading manufacturing countries in the world. "This agreement is for Egypt's development and judging its performance is too soon now, Gamal said. "We cannot continue to rely on other countries in manufacturing, when we have the ability to produce our own products and tailor them to our needs. Exporting mobile phones to the Middle East - where Arabic users are abundant - is a huge step for the Egyptian mobile phone industry. "If we concentrate on criticism, we will not achieve our strategic aims, the ITIDA official said. "I am not against the decision, however, we must be cautious in the implementation phase to guarantee that the project is executed right from the beginning, Heshmat said.
