Egypt, Italy Explore Plans for AI Hub in Egypt, Cooperation in AI, Global Infrastructure

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso chaired, today, Egyptian-Italian discussions at the headquarters of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in the New Administrative Capital.

The discussions aimed to open new avenues of cooperation between Egypt and Italy in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and global information infrastructure (GII) and in establishing an AI hub in Egypt to serve African countries. The Deputy Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs Yasser Hashem, and the Ambassador of Italy to Egypt Michele Quaroni attended the meeting.

The two ministers also chaired an extensive meeting in the presence of senior officials from the two countries. They reviewed the national efforts in Egypt and Italy in the field of AI and explored opportunities for cooperation to promote the use of AI for development.

The meeting shed light on MCIT capacity-building initiatives, the national efforts in data governance, the most prominent achievements in GII, and cooperation prospects between the two sides.

In his remarks, the ICT Minister emphasized that Egypt and Italy share strong ties on different levels. He said that he looked forward for the discussions to further strengthen Egyptian-Italian collaboration in ICT through promising projects. He pointed out that the bilateral discussions are aimed at laying the foundation for constructive cooperation between Egypt and Italy in different aspects of AI and the needed infrastructure.

The meeting discussed enhancing collaboration to establish an AI hub in Egypt to advance the AI industry in Africa. He emphasized Egypt's readiness to host the hub through an effective partnership. Talaat highlighted the ongoing cooperation between Egypt and African nations in various ICT areas. The discussions also emphasized the significance of Egypt's strategic position as a data corridor bridging the East and West, as well as the collaboration between Egypt and Italy in this domain.

For his part, Urso pointed to the growing bilateral ties, empowered by the strengthened strategic partnership between the two countries and reinforced by the recent visit of the Italian Prime Minister to Egypt. He highlighted the significance of fostering cooperation in GII to position Egypt as a hub connecting Italy, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He pointed out that Egypt hosts 90% of the data traffic between Asia, Europe, and Africa, adding that Italian enterprises have extensive expertise in this area.

Italy is a leading country in digital industry and AI fields, stated the Italian Minister. He referred to the establishment of the AI Hub for Sustainable Development, a project adopted during the G7 meetings. Urso emphasized the commitment to collaborate in positioning Egypt as an international AI hub to benefit all African nations. He clarified that Egypt has been identified as a strategic partner and the preferred host for the hub, a decision made by Italy during its Presidency of the G7. Urso highlighted Egypt's substantial expertise in AI developed over the years, confirming plans to establish the hub within the current year.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy ICT Minister for Administrative Development, Digital Transformation, and Automation Khaled El Attar; the Deputy ICT Minister for Institutional Development Ghada Labib; the Chairperson of Egypt Post Sherif Farouk, the CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) Ahmed Elzaher, Telecom Egypt's Managing Director and CEO Mohamed Nasr, the Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technological Talents Hoda Baraka, the Director of the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) Ahmed Khattab, the Chairwoman of the Information Technology Institute (ITI) Heba Saleh, the Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technology Innovation, Electronics Industry, and Training Hossam Osman; the Head of the Applied Innovation Center (AIC) Ahmed Tantawy, the Advisor to the ICT Minister on Data Governance Suzanne El Akabaoui, and officials from MCIT.
 
From the Italian side, the meeting was joined by the Diplomatic Advisor to the Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Mario Cospito; Head of Department, Digital Economy at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy Eva Spina, President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) Teodoro Valente, and officials from the Italian Embassy in Cairo.