Majed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director of Dubai Internet City, DIC, and Dubai Outsource Zone, today met with Atef Helmy, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, to discuss potential areas of collaboration, as part of a continued drive to promote entrepreneurship and innovation within the ICT sector, Egypt’s ICT 2020 Strategy, which seeks to establish Egypt as a global digital hub, and the U.A.E. ICT Strategy 2021, will position both the U.A.E. and Egypt as global industry leaders and strategic business hubs, working hard to drive continual development across the region. By supporting each other through promoting partnerships across companies and talent in both Egypt and the U.A.E., fostering entrepreneurship, and supporting smart initiatives, this will result in further growth for the regional ICT sector.
The U.A.E. and Egypt’s ICT sectors are thriving, with ICT spending in the U.A.E. forecast to grow by 5 percent over the course of 2014 to reach US$15 billion. The U.A.E. is also moving steadily up the ranks of global ICT indexes, and a recent World Economic Forum study ranked the U.A.E. first among Arab States in government success in ICT promotion and the first in mobile network coverage, with 85 percent of U.A.E. residents now online, the highest number in the Middle East. Internet use in Egypt has grown at an annual rate of 10 percent, and investments in Egypt’s ICT sector reached $6.6 billion last year.
Speaking after the meeting, Majed Al Suwaidi said, "The Middle East’s ICT industry is growing significantly, with ICT spending across the region projected to grow by 8 percent in 2014, compared with global growth of 2.1 percent, according to market research company, Gartner.
"The U.A.E. in particular has seen huge growth across the ICT sector in recent years through proactive government initiatives, including smart initiatives, cutting-edge infrastructure and connectivity. Dubai Internet City provides an innovative hub for companies from around the world to set up their companies, as well as a community to foster and support entrepreneurship, and the emirate is now home to industry giants including Facebook, HP and DELL." "I look forward to working closely with Egypt’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology to collaborate and promote the development of a robust ICT sector, both in Egypt and the U.A.E., as well as across the entire region," he added.