Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat has witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between his ministry and the French company Thales. The MoU aims to set up cooperation between the two sides in developing artificial intelligence (AI) applications in various fields, building capabilities and encouraging innovation and research in the field. It was signed by Golestan Radwan, Advisor to the Minister for AI, and Sherif Barakat, Executive Director of Thales in Egypt. The scope of cooperation in accordance with the MoU includes implementing a number of joint projects to boost Egypt's AI industry, as part of the country's national AI strategy. It ensures that cooperation will take place in building applications using AI technology in various fields, including smart cities, transportation, digital government, and smart infrastructure. The two parties will also cooperate in the field of supporting innovation, building local capabilities and entrepreneurship in the field of AI, by supporting startups and organising a hackathon. This is in addition to conducting joint research on the ethics of AI. Both parties will also work to create compatibility in terms of their stance towards issues related to AI. This will take place through campaigns and public awareness programmes, with the aim of educating the public on topics related to the opportunities and risks posed by AI and data privacy Minister Talaat said that Egypt is keen on localising emerging technologies. He also said that this cooperation strengthens the efforts made to build a digital Egypt, through which the use of AI is maximised for the benefit of its citizens. The cooperation also confirms the strategic partnership between Egypt and France in the field of AI. This is the sixth consecutive agreement with French partners in 18 months. He expressed his hope for more cooperation in this field. He added that the areas of cooperation with Thales, a leading company in the field of advanced technology solutions, fall under the four pillars of the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. Cooperation will take place in building AI capabilities in various sectors of society, as well as within the framework of two other pillars, namely government AI and AI for development. This would occur by building AI applications in various fields, as well as supporting efforts exerted in making the stances of Egypt and France similar towards AI through joint research on AI ethics. Barakat said that this MoU is an important step for Thales, and that this cooperation makes AI technology a top priority. This is especially because of its importance in providing smart and safe solutions and services in the field of smart cities. It will have a focus in the coming stage, on cooperation in providing innovative solutions in the fields of road transport and digital government. He stressed that Thales is committed to providing the best technologies and ways to implement joint projects.
