Minister of Communications and Information Technology (CIT) Amr Talaat held a meeting with Mohamed Abdel Wahab, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), and a number of GAFI leaders to follow up on automation projects meant to upgrade investment facilitation mechanisms using the latest technology offered by the communications and information technology (ICT) field. During the meeting, Talaat praised the existing cooperation between the CIT and GAFI, which resulted in the achievement of many development projects in GAFI through the mechanisation of business and services in the framework of digital transformation projects. He stressed the importance of joint cooperation with GAFI in order to provide the necessary training for young entrepreneurs to gain knowledge about investment incentives and mastery of the skills needed to establish companies. This is in light of the initiatives implemented by the CIT to create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and for the development of freelancers, as well as inaugurating technological innovation complexes in a number of regional universities that host programmes to support young entrepreneurs. He also plans to advance cooperation between the Ministry and GAFI in supporting entrepreneurship through “Your Idea, Your Company” initiative. The Minister also indicated the importance of coordination between the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and GAFI, in order to attract new investments in the ICT field. For his part, Abdel Wahab said that the CIT is one of the ministries supporting GAFI to implement a number of projects in the areas of automating investor services and electronic signature. The two sides also discussed launching investment services within digital government services that will be available to all citizens in the first half of this year, in addition to documentation, traffic, and ration card services. The meeting also dealt with cooperation in electronic signature services where the system was activated in main investor services centres between the authority's employees and the public (investors) in addition to activating the system in the first phase of the digital transformation programme in Port Said.
