Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between HMD International — the owner of Nokia — and Etisal for Advanced Industries (EAI) in Egypt to manufacture 1m mobile devices of various models by the end of the year. The agreement was signed by Tamer Al-Gamal, General Manager of HMD in Egypt; and Ahmed Abu Auf, Managing Director of Etisal Advanced Industries (EAI), in the presence of several officials from both sides. Talaat said in a press statement issued on Saturday that this agreement comes to devote the efforts of the state to create a climate that supports the growth of investments by international companies in Egypt, and it also confirms the government's keenness to encourage and motivate the private sector to manufacture within Egyptian factories, transfer knowledge and expertise, localise the electronics industry to contribute to its development, and create specialised job opportunities for young people in the field of IT and electronics. For his part, Abu Auf said that the agreement encompasses manufacturing Nokia mobile phones at the highest quality locally, which achieves Egypt's strategy to establish itself as a regional centre for advanced industries. Meanwhile, Al-Gamal said that under the agreement, HMD will provide EAI with the production requirements of raw materials, inspection and testing tools, and calibration equipment necessary for the production process. "We will also provide the factory in Egypt with transfers of technological expertise and technical support by training Egyptian cadres at the hands of Nokia experts from Finland, in addition to providing all means of support to take advantage of the company's research and development centres to provide the best specifications and products that meet consumer needs," he said. It is worth noting that EAI — through its factory in Sixth of October City — is developing and manufacturing advanced electronics with a production capacity of more than 2m units this year that will increase to 10m annually in the coming years.
