In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Ladies and gentlemen;

It gives me great pleasure to be with you for the second time at the inauguration of this distinguished Egyptian gathering to share with you the pride in what has been achieved in less than one year. We have launched in December last year several initiatives that are aimed at upgrading the information technology and communications sector and increasing the added value of the products of this sector. I have closely followed up since then all strenuous efforts by the sons of this sector from the promising Egyptian young people for implementing these initiatives. I am proud today of what has been achieved on the ground of projects that will contribute to attaining a qualitative progress in the information technology and communications sector.

The technological zones which we inaugurate today in Assuit and Borg El Arab for example, will contribute to providing thousands of new jobs for the sons of Egypt. They will also help increase exports of the software industry and provide information technology and communications services on behalf of major international companies in what is called "outsourcing" together with encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship and enhancing electronics exports from factories that will be set up in these zones. Completing the establishment of the two zones in Assiut and Borg El Arab in less than one year and achieving high rate of occupancy that is more than 75 percent of the areas allocated for information technology works is an achievement by all means in which every Egyptian should take pride. These zones will help promote the Egyptian international status in the domains related to information technology and communications and will contribute to achieving justice in the distribution of job opportunities in all governorates through providing around 4,000 job openings in each zone during the first year.

Also, launching the services of the fourth generation of mobile communications whose experimental transmission is launched today will place Egypt in its natural place among other nations in the domain of communications and will upgrade the quality of audio services and the services of data transfer extended to the Egyptian citizen. It will also contribute to extending electronic services that are needed by the business sector. This sector has met on time its promises in completing the process of transformation into the services of the fourth generation. It also contributed to upgrading the mobile and fixed communications services in all parts of the republic including providing mobile communications services to our citizens in border areas.

Brothers and sisters;

I would like also on this occasion to make reference to implementing the first phase of the project of integrated database which is aimed at building an informational and technological environment that would help achieve integration among all State departments through building an all-out modern services pad. The project will work for improving the quality of data and linking them to the ID cards in a way that allows the decision maker to gauge the viability of decisions and policies and outline policies in accordance with previous and future analyses. It will also lead to increasing the ability of fighting all patterns of tax evasion and corruption and building social protection networks so that it will save much time, effort and funds for the State. This project will also help resume building the digital community in Egypt and improve governmental services and making them available in a fair way to all members of the society. We hope also for completing the implementation of this important project within the framework of the set time frame or even before.

Ladies and gentlemen;

What has been achieved in the sector of information technology and communications in the domain of merging people of special needs into the society is also very much appreciated where technology has been made available for around 3,000 schools for people of special needs. Also up to 20,000 teachers of people of special needs were trained on using this technology in the educational process. Around 200 community centers were also supplied with this technology along with several governmental facilities to be able to cater for people of special needs. Also, remote therapeutic programs were introduced together with setting up a regional center for encouraging innovators and emerging companies for upgrading technology to help people of special needs through "Empowering Program". I hope that our efforts on this score would double in the coming years to be able to merge them into all economic activities so that they would be a productive force in whose achievements we take pride.

What I am following up in relation to manufacturing electronics in Egypt is very promising. Your success throughout the current year in attracting four international factories for manufacturing mobile phones and tablets along with internet communications equipment via optical fibers and manufacturing optical fibers in the new technological zones is an important step along the road of upgrading and settling this industry so that Egypt would take its long-awaited place in this domain. This industry is important and promising as a feeding industry to several other industries that Egypt is planning to expand like auto industry.

I became sure through following up the development of this sector throughout the current year that the national projects were are implementing in the various State sectors have a sound technological base that could enable us to achieve their goals in the shortest time possible and at the lowest cost with the highest quality. This sector has contributed more than half a billion dollars in the domain of exporting outsourcing services until the end of September 2016 through a workforce of around 30,000 specialists. Even though, I urge you to exert more efforts and attract more foreign and local investments to expand extending these services while focusing on the high added value services for upgrading software and extending remote technical support services together with the services that are related to research and innovation that will increase the revenue of Egyptian exports in this promising domain that provides thousands of jobs for Egyptian young people.

I am very much interested in agreements with major international quarters operating in the domain of training human cadres in information technology to groom up fresh graduates and educate them the experience that qualifies them for the labor market along with international skills in this field through interactive electronic learning given the fact that our youths are the leaders of the future. Launching the interactive learning pad "Leaders of the Future Technology" today is the first step along the road of grooming up these young people to cope up with the challenges of modern technology and empowering them to be trained on the state-of-the-art technologies in the various technological fields. This will have a very high revenue and impact in the economic, technical and security fields.

Efforts that are exerted by all members of this important sector since my last meeting with them less than one year ago are very much commended and appreciated. Even though I urge them to exert more efforts and propose more ideas and initiatives as we are racing against time for achieving a qualitative progress which we seek for our dear Egypt. Therefore, I would like to call upon you to expand the implementation of technological zones at a pace of at least two new zones every year. Meanwhile, I launch today the implementation of the "Knowledge City" to which up to 300 feddans are allocated in the new administrative capital.

Last but not least, I would like to confirm that the State will continue supporting this sector which is one of the important sectors in the process of economic transformation. I would like also to thank you all and thank everybody who took part in implementing these activities, projects and achievements that were realized during last year. I tell you all that Egypt and its people very much appreciate your sincere efforts and important achievements you have accomplished. I hope for you more success and progress in the near future.

Thank you very much… Long Live Egypt…Long Live Egypt… Long Live Egypt.