By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
The African Union Commission
and the Government of Egypt have reaffirmed their commitment to advancing
Africa’s digital transformation through stronger cooperation on connectivity,
artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and skills development.
The discussions took place
during a bilateral meeting between African Union Commissioner for
Infrastructure and Energy H.E. Lerato D. Mataboge and Egypt’s Minister of
Communications and Information Technology, Hon. Eng. Raafat Hendy, on the
sidelines of the WSIS Forum 2026 in Geneva.
The meeting highlighted
Egypt’s strategic role in Africa’s digital ecosystem, with nearly one-fifth of
global internet traffic passing through the country, making it a key gateway
for international digital connectivity.
The two leaders discussed
opportunities to leverage Egypt’s digital infrastructure to support the
continent’s broader digital integration agenda, including expanding
cross-border connectivity, developing regional data and cloud infrastructure,
and strengthening digital skills across Africa.
The engagement also
underscored Egypt’s longstanding contribution to the African Union’s digital
agenda. In 2019, the country hosted the African Union Specialised Technical
Committee on Communication and ICT, where Member States adopted the Digital
Transformation Strategy for Africa and established the working group that later
developed a common African position on artificial intelligence.
Egypt’s progress in
artificial intelligence also featured prominently during the discussions. The
country has emerged as one of Africa’s leading AI ecosystems, supported by a
national strategy that aims to increase AI’s contribution to gross domestic product
by 2030, a growing startup ecosystem and large-scale digital public services,
including digital identity and electronic payment platforms.
The African Union and Egypt
agreed that strengthening regional digital infrastructure and fostering greater
cooperation will be essential to supporting an integrated African digital
economy and accelerating inclusive digital transformation across the continent.
