CAIRO: An Egyptian delegation of 30 public-private sector representatives is heading to the India Leadership Forum in Mumbai, which will be held from Feb. 13-15, according to a press statement. The Egyptian delegation will foster partnership efforts with India in the field of IT services, namely Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and other related areas. Egypt will host a dinner for CEOs of international and Indian firms. The Information Technology Industry Development Agency s (ITIDA) CEO Hazem Abdelazim will head the delegation to the event organized by NASSCOM, the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-ITES (information technology enabled services) industries in India. Participants will also acquaint themselves with the latest developments in the global ICT industry, namely the global IT-BPO market, and network with multinational companies and Indian corporations. Abdelazim said, "Egypt is looking up to India and wishes to follow suit of a huge power in the ITES industry. We go to Mumbai with a mission; we need to learn from the masters of the craft and we will offer them an open hand. The Indian Leadership Forum will also enable Egyptian participants to pinpoint the competitiveness of Egypt in the outsourcing arena and highlight how its geographical location and a skilled labor force can play in its partnership with India. Selected delegates will play the role of "Egyptian IT ambassadors, stressing the benefits of cooperation with India, the largest BPO provider in the world. The goal of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and its affiliate, ITIDA, is to increase IT/ITES exports and enhance the capacity of these companies. The strategy pays special attention to training, attracting international ICT companies, and increasing the presence of Egyptian companies in events such as the Indian Leadership Forum. A.T. Kearney consultancy firm ranked Egypt 13th on its Global Services Location Index 2007, while the Yankee Group issued a report in May 2007 predicting that Egypt would be the "India of the Middle East provided that the country stays the current course. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1,200 members, of which over 250 are global companies from across US, UK, EU and APAC.
