By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Egypt’s Minister of
Communications and Information Technology, Raafat Hendy, has held a series of
meetings with senior officials from Qatar, South Korea and the Arab Information
and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO) to strengthen cooperation
in artificial intelligence (AI), digital infrastructure, research and
development, and digital innovation.
The meetings took place on
the sidelines of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2026 (PP-26) in Doha,
Qatar, following the minister’s participation in the international
telecommunications gathering.
In a meeting with Qatar’s
Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mohammed bin Ali bin
Mohammed Al Mannai, the two ministers discussed opportunities for cooperation
in digital infrastructure, digital transformation, capacity building, research
and development, AI, innovation and entrepreneurship, and postal services.
The discussions also
reviewed the results of coordination between the two ministries, which had
produced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in these areas,
ahead of its signing.
Both ministers stressed the
importance of aligning Arab positions at international forums on AI governance,
fostering cooperation in innovation and technology-driven entrepreneurship, and
exchanging expertise and experiences in research and development and AI
applications. They also highlighted the importance of enabling young people in
both countries to benefit from ongoing initiatives in these fields.
The meeting was attended by
Egypt’s Ambassador to Qatar, Walid Fahmy Al Faqi.
Hendy also met with South
Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, Bae Kyung-hoon,
to review areas of cooperation under an existing MoU between Egypt’s Ministry
of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Korea’s Ministry of
Science and ICT (MSIT).
The two sides discussed the
steps required to activate the agreement and follow up on its implementation,
with particular attention to South Korea’s experience in AI applications,
research and development, digital skills development for young people, institutional
capacity building, quantum computing and AI-driven industrial development.
In a separate meeting, the
Egyptian minister held discussions with Mohamed Ben Amor, Secretary-General of
AICTO, focusing on the organisation’s role in promoting joint Arab efforts in
the ICT sector.
The meeting explored ways to
strengthen cooperation between MCIT and AICTO in areas of mutual interest,
particularly digital trust and electronic signatures.
The meetings were attended
by Ambassador Walid Al Faqi, Executive President of Egypt’s National Telecom
Regulatory Authority (NTRA) Mohamed Shamroukh, Advisor to the ICT Minister on
Economic and Statistical Affairs Ahmed Said, and Head of the Central Department
of International Relations at MCIT Samah Aziz.
As part of Egypt’s
participation in PP-26, Hendy also delivered a speech at an event organised by
Egypt, bringing together government representatives, official delegations,
senior ITU officials and representatives of regional and international
organisations.
The event provided an
opportunity for the minister to hold discussions with ITU Secretary-General
Doreen Bogdan-Martin and heads of delegations, while promoting Egypt’s
candidacy for a seat on the ITU Council.
In his remarks, Hendy
highlighted Egypt’s role as an active member of the ITU and its Council, citing
the country’s history of hosting major ITU events, including the World
Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) and the Global Symposium for
Regulators 2023 (GSR-23), both held in Sharm El-Sheikh.
He stressed that Egypt’s
engagement with the ITU goes beyond mere membership to include collaboration,
trust-building and consensus-building around the shared objectives of Member
States.
Hendy also expressed Egypt’s
hope of securing the support of Member States for its re-election to the ITU
Council, emphasising the need to sustain cooperation and strengthen collective
commitment to the Union’s success.
The minister’s engagements
formed part of his two-day participation in PP-26, which is taking place in
Doha from November 9 to 27. He also took part in the Plenary Session, where he
delivered Egypt’s national address, highlighting efforts to promote digital
inclusion and sustainable digital transformation.
