CAIRO: Egypt s ministerial delegation to the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland ended their mission on an optimistic note concerning Egypt s economic future. Boosting economic relations and cooperation, in addition to integrating Egypt with its economic counterparts, is the government s mission this year in order to sustain growth. I not only plan to match [last year s growth], I plan to exceed it, Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali told Reuters in Davos. With the setback in the world economy and all this talk about recession and stagnation we may not be able to do 7.5 percent - but we will do more than 7 percent. Defending the need to sustain growth, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid made it clear to the global business community that in order for Egypt and other developing countries to flourish, their gains must be considered in any negotiations that take place. Any decisions or negotiations that do not care for the benefits of developing countries are not acceptable. Egypt will play an important role in defending the rights of African countries, Rachid said. Meanwhile, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tarek Kamel said in his speech during a session about cyberspace that Egypt has been working on putting together an integrated framework for securing cyberspace. Egypt is currently preparing laws and legislations required for combating information technology crimes, he said. The minister added that Egypt is ready to invest in its IT infrastructure and information security and cooperate with the international community to fight IT crimes. Egypt is ready to cooperate with the international society to secure cyber space, Kamel said. The IT minister also stressed Egypt s plan to become a regional IT hub, specialized in exporting IT services, including manpower. This will not be possible without the enhancement of human resource training to qualify young people and aid them to acquire new skills to boost competitiveness. The minister took pride in the fact that most WEF participants lauded Egypt for its Egyptian Education Initiative (EEI), which uses IT to develop the educational system. Kamel promoted the effect of IT on the delivery of education, the acquisition of necessary skills and the potential for experimentation with technology-enabled learning. EEI is a public-private partnership between the Egyptian Government and the World Economic Forum s IT members community. The initiative supports Egypt s overall education reform efforts and maximizes the potential for collaborative public private partnerships to achieve its goals. Over 100,000 teachers have been trained in cooperation with international companies, Kamel said. Egypt will use Davos discussions and sessions to lay the foundation for the World Economic Forum it is hosting next May.
