Talaat made his statements during an event organised by the World Bank to launch the bank’s Egypt Economic Monitor 2021 report.

Talaat noted that the ministry targets to raise this contribution to 8 percent over the coming three years.

During the event, Talaat showcased “Digital Egypt” project, which translates the government strategy for digital transformation.

He noted that such a project is built on three key pillars, including cultivating digital skills, fostering digital innovation, spearheading transformation.

“Building human capacity is a key cornerstone for Digital Egypt project. The University of Informatics is one of our main projects that works in this regard with a total cost of EGP 4 billion. The university is expected to work with its full capacity within a couple of years”, the minister explained.

He also pointed out to AHMOS project, which is adopted by the communications ministry with an aim to avail more than one service in the meantime for citizens, noting that the project is anticipated to operate starting July 2022 and to be fully implemented within 25-30 months.

He also said that 96 percent of data that are distributed from east to west globally are passing through Egypt through the fiber optics tubes.

Egypt’s Economic Monitor 2021 opted for digital transformation to be its focus area to be highlighted in the report.

According to the report, investments in telecommunications infrastructure, automation of key government services and procedures, as well as the launch of digital government platforms have placed Egypt at a relatively elevated level of digital government transformation.

The report also noted these actions reflect the progress in Egypt’s digital transformation strategy.

During the event, Marina Wes, the World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, asserted the Bank commitment to support Egypt; especially in human development area, through lending policies and technical support.

She added that the World Bank’s current portfolio in Egypt comprises 15 operations with a total value worth $5.5 billion, pointing out that the bank and Egypt’s government are working currently on drafting on the country strategy framework for the coming five years, which supports the country’s reforms.

Wes also affirmed that Egypt’s economy continues to show resilience against the pandemic under the country’s reform programme, highlighting the country progress in the digital transformation sector; particularly Digital Egypt strategy.

Nadir Mohamed, Regional Director for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions in MENA Region at the World Bank, said that Egypt is one of the new countries in the region that managed to escape countering an economic contraction over the past two years of the pandemic.

He added that Egypt is the only country in the region that is expected to approach the pre-pandemic level in terms of the real GDP growth in the current FY2021/22.

During the event, Mohamed underpinned Egypt’s progress in fields of digital transformation, boosting investment and business climate.

Touching upon Egypt’s macroeconomic performance, the report said that Egypt’s macroeconomy has been proving its resilience since the onset of the pandemic despite its severe impacts.

The report projected Egypt’s economic growth to approach its pre-pandemic level during current FY2021/2022 (ends in June) with a projected 5.5 percent in real GDP growth, the report said.