PM Madbouly signs 5 MoUs to boost Egypt-China IT cooperation in Beijing

Ahram Online , Friday 6 Sep 2024

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly signed five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing to boost cooperation between Egypt and China in telecommunications and information technology, the cabinet announced on Friday.

PM Madbouly
Egypt's PM Mostafa Madbouly attending the MOU signing between ITIDA, the National Telecommunications Institute, and ZTE on Friday in Beijing. Photo: Egyptian Cabinet

 

The first MoU was between Egypt's IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and FiberHome Telecommunication Technologies, according to which a factory will be established in Egypt for fibre optic cable production, covering 10,000 square metres.

The factory will produce one million fibre kilometres and assemble 500,000 communication units annually, creating 200 jobs.

Moreover, a research and development centre will be created for optical networks and green technology, alongside a training centre for network engineers and technicians.

The second MoU involves cooperation between ITIDA, Tsinghua Unigroup, and Telecom Egypt to establish a data centre and cloud services operation in Egypt, along with a $300 million tech investment fund.

The collaboration will also explore creating a research centre for semiconductor design and developing artificial intelligence applications, including an Arabic language model.

In the third MoU, Huawei Egypt will expand operations by launching a new development centre focusing on local industry solutions, software, and cloud computing. The centre will train 1,500 developers by 2025 and support startups by providing cloud resources and technical expertise, strengthening Egypt’s software development ecosystem.

The fourth MoU between ITIDA, the National Telecommunications Institute (NTI), and ZTE will localize the production of fixed network stations and optical fibre network equipment.

ZTE will also establish two training labs for 5G and GPON technology, providing professional training for 1,200 participants for three years.

The fifth MoU, signed with Hengtong Group, includes establishing a second fibre optic cable factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone with a $15 million investment. The factory will produce 3 million kilometres of fibre optic cables annually, with 40 percent exported to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The agreement also includes setting up a training academy in collaboration with the NTI.

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