WASHINGTON DC: "Egypt is open for business" was the message a group of US and Egyptian leaders from the public and private sectors sent out on the first day of the “Egypt: Forward” forum. According to the director of the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the two-day forum (June 27-28), will focus on trade rather than aid in the coming phase of partnership between both countries. Sponsored by the USTDA in collaboration with the US Department of State and Commerce, the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-Egypt Business Council, the forum aims to connect attending Egyptian businessmen and entrepreneurs with some 200 US company leaders seeking potential cooperation. Highlighting opportunities for financing projects in the four key sectors of information and communication technology, energy, transportation and agri-business, the forum kicked off with a plenary session in which Egypt's ICT Minister Magued Osman opened his remarks with an emotive video showing scenes from the Jan. 25 uprising. He described the current phase in Egypt as a vital turning point following the "youth-triggered revolution that was powered by ICT to demand freedom, democracy and social justice." Osman emphasized the need to capitalize on the sense of ownership and participation Egyptians are now feeling, the need to overcome the short-term challenges and to manage heightened expectations. The interim government, he said, is currently focusing on improving the investment climate through various avenues that include anti-corruption measures, the promotion of an open-market economy, competitiveness and public private partnerships. In the quest to boost knowledge-based development in Egypt, Osman spoke of an "ICT for democracy initiative," which he believes promotes more political and economic inclusiveness and provides momentum through social networking to push for basic human rights, government accountability and transparency as a core part of the ongoing transition. With 23.5 million Egyptians accessing the internet, 71.4 million mobile phone subscribers including 8 million who access the internet on their phones, the ICT ministry hopes to move Egypt's success story to the next level by promoting Egypt as an innovation hub. Osman pointed to an Egyptian Broadband Strategy that will be launched in September with the aim of supporting young entrepreneurs in the sector and to contribute to the social and cultural development of society as a whole, to "harness the power of the internet to spur change and encourage dialogue." He also underlined the need to streamline the ICT sector's regulatory and legal framework through amending the current ICT law as well as to come up with a data privacy law. Speakers at the first executive roundtable of the forum included Alex Shalaby, CEO of Mobinil, Medhat Khalil, chairman and CEO of Raya Holding as well as Jay Collins, global co-head of Public Sector Group, Citigroup and Jeffery L. Johnson, VP of Boeing International and president of Boeing Middle East.
