AMMAN, Feb 26 (MENA) - Egyptian Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Institutional Development Ghada Labib said the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is cooperating with all state institutions to build "Digital Egypt" and reach a connected, participatory and sustainable e-government, deeming this as a "strategic goal" for the MCIT.

In statements to MENA Wednesday on the sidelines of her participation in the second edition of the Digital Cooperation and Development Forum (DCDF), held in Amman under the theme "Our vision... Our world... Our future", the Egyptian official said that her ministry works on building an Egyptian society that deals digitally in all aspects of life in an interactive, safe and sustainable way.

All drives aim at simulating development, attaining digital goals, improving the quality of life for citizens and increasing competitive capabilities of the State, Labib added.

The MCIT has a digital methodology based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Arab Digital Agenda, Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS): Egypt Vision 2030 and Digital Egypt Strategy, she further noted.

The digital approach focuses on the citizen; being key factor - "target beneficiary", thus contributing to the success of any digital system and guarantying its sustainability, said the official.

Through digital institutional development, the MCIT's efforts aim at making the society with all its components ready to setting up sustainable digital transformation projects, Labib added.

She said the MCIT works on disseminating digital culture and qualifying all elements incorporated in the digital system to adapt to IT data, concepts and tools in compliance with Article 25 of the Egyptian Constitution stipulating that "The State shall develop a comprehensive plan to eradicate alphabetical and digital illiteracy among citizens of all ages".

The MCIT, in cooperation with state institutions, works on creating a favorable climate for developing IT infrastructure, including systems and apps, in a way that enables workers to efficiently use them, and build their digital capabilities, Labib said.

The State works on developing a digital infrastructure by extending fiber-optic cables nationwide, to create a stimulating environment that encourages local and foreign companies to invest directly in the ICT industry, she added.

The Egyptian official further underlined that investments worth more than EGP 150 billion have been pumped to launch a project mean to improve efficiency of fixed broadband internet in Egypt and build up a new fiber-optic network.

Nearly 25,000 government buildings have been provided with fiber-optic cable connections and the hard data of 100 entities has been integrated into Government-to-Government (G2G) services, she said.

Work is underway to digitally empower more than 50 million citizens in 4,500 villages as part of the "Decent Life" presidential initiative via targeting the delivery of fiber-optic cables to 9.3 million buildings, enhancing the efficiency and installing 4,000 cellular towers, spreading digital culture to nearly 490,000 citizens and developing 1,700 post offices nationwide, said the official.

As for the procedures taken by the MCIT for digital institutional development, Labib said that in 2024, the ministry provided technical support to the Information Systems (IS) and digital transformation departments in the ministries and entities that have been relocated to the New Administrative Capital, she added.

Up till February 2025, the development and building of digital capabilities of about 156,570 employees of the State’s administrative bodies and as many as 1,147,805 from all categories of the Egyptian society have been completed, according to the official.

Regarding Egypt’s supporting role in achieving the Arab Digital Agenda, Labib said, Egypt is always keen on cooperating and coordinating with Arab countries in all areas.

Egypt is ready to provide all support, build capabilities, and exert utmost efforts to attain the goals of the Arab Digital Agenda, she added.

The Arab Digital Agenda 2023-2033 (ADA), adopted during the 32nd session of the Arab Summit on May 19, 2023, building related partnerships and continuing the ADA alignment with the GDC process, as well as supporting the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process, including the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and shaping their future beyond 2025.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Arab League (AL), in collaboration with a number of UN and AL partner organizations and in cooperation with the Jordanian government - represented by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MODEE) organize the second edition of the DCDF. (MENA)

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