Egypt’s ICT sector continues to be one of the most attractive sectors for foreign and domestic investment, due to the tremendous development and rapid growth that is being achieved year after year in telecommunication and modern technology, one of the most important sectors which continues to support the economy and attract major international companies.  

In this context Canada Egypt Business Council and the Egyptian Council for International Cooperation organized an event with H.E. Mr. Sergei Popkov Minister of Communication and Information of republic of Belarus to discuss Prospects and Opportunities for cooperation in IT Sphere between Egypt and Belarus. 

In the opening remarks Eng. Khaled Raslan mentioned the great development witnessed in the bilateral relations between the two countries on various political and economic levels, and the desire of the two sides to push forward these relations, especially after the visit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to Egypt in January 2017. 

He added that the seminar will be attended by a large number of members, guests of the two councils, and experts who are interested in the ICT sector to discuss opportunities and prospects for cooperation between Egypt and Belarus in the ICT sector, especially in view of the development and growth of this sector in Egypt and its ability to attract foreign investments. It was further explained that this event comes as a complement to the efforts of the Council’s promotional mission to Belarus in May 2015, which contributed to the opening channels of communication with the Belarusian side in many sectors. He pointed out that during the visit it was noticed that there is a great interest from the Belarusian side in the Egyptian market and a genuine desire to cooperate economically and through foreign trade, as the volume of trade between the two countries jumped by 59% during the first 10 months of 2017 to reach 75 million Dollars. 

He pointed out that the intensive visits exchanged between the two countries during the last period reflect the keenness to expand the scope of joint economic cooperation and open up new horizons and wider areas of joint investments to benefit from the possibilities available in both countries. He added that the Egyptian telecommunications sector is one of the promising sectors attracting investment due to the growth in mobile subscribers and internet users, and the evolution of technological services.  

Belarusian ambassador to Cairo Sergey Ratchkov stressed on the importance of the results achieved during the visit of the Minister of Communications and Information Sergei Popkov to Cairo, where he held fruitful talks with Prime Minister Sharif Ismail and signed a memorandum of understanding between the two countries to enhance cooperation in the field of information and communication technology. 

Another agreement was signed between the Belarusian Telecommunications Academy and the National Telecommunications Institute (NTI) to strengthen cooperation in education and science, an agreement was reached by sending an Egyptian delegation of ICT specialists to participate in the International ICT Forum (ITP or 2018) in the city of Minsk. 

He added that Minister of Communications and Information Yasser al-Kadi discussed with his Belarusian counterpart the means of building the digital economy in light of the achievements of Belarus, ways to expand cooperation in cyber security, innovation and entrepreneurship, exchange of experience in smart villages, research and development in information technology and training of specialists to get a Master’s degree programs and short-term courses at the Belarusian Academy of Communications. 

Belarusian Minister of Communications and Information Sergei Popkov spoke about the development of the Belarusian communications sector, including telecommunications networks which are controlled by over 85% by the national company in Belarus. He said that all networks were updated in 2007, as it has been affected by the global financial crisis, but they were able to overcome these difficulties in a little time. He added that Belarus has four mobile companies, including foreign capital (Austrian and Russian), as well as cooperation with international companies such as Huawei and other mobile operators with joint capital. 

H.E Sergei Popkov  referred to the difference in the nature of communications between the villages and the countryside in Belarus, he mentioned that they are trying to reduce the technological gap between them, and considering electronic currencies, he explained that there is no unified opinion on the nature of these currencies, as in Japan these currencies are considered as a mean of exchange , but in Belarus the right was given to light smart contracts for using electronic currencies on a limited scale. 

He further mentioned that we will watch how the world will move towards these new encrypted currencies, noting that the “Crepto Carnese” electronic currency has become an important means of study by international banks to identify the opportunities that it can provide to the banking sector, as well as the new technology, “Block Shin,” which is a technological tool also in the field of banks, but it has not yet proven their reliability. 

The floor was opened for questions and answers sessions where several ideas and suggestions where discussed.