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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Mediterranean online
By Eman YoussefThe information technology (IT) sector of Mediterranean-basin countries was recently showcased at the world's second largest IT exhibition held in Milan. Comprising 3,000 exhibitors, of whom 820 came from outside Italy, SMAU (International Exhibition for Information and Communications Technology) included participants from many of the region's movers in the field. Famous for being the centre of Italy's auto and fashion industries, Milan has taken the lead in Italy's flourishing IT sector.
As this exhibition is the most important IT fair held by a Mediterranean-basin country, SMAU offered Egypt an excellent opportunity to show off its increasingly dynamic sector to operators interested in partnerships with IT ventures based in Mediterranean countries.
Leonardo Lacovelli, director of SMAU's Rome office, expressed enthusiasm about Egypt's prospects for developing a dynamic IT sector citing its human resources and its status as an emerging market. As the importance of IT increases in the international economy, "Egypt is poised to be the main gateway to the Middle East for firms operating in the Internet and telecommunications markets," Lacovelli told Al-Ahram Weekly.
A major challenge facing IT development in Egypt, and one which it shares with other countries in the Mediterranean area, is getting a substantial percentage of the population online. "Access to the digital economy by small and medium enterprises in Mediterranean countries has been a focal point of studies and activities carried out by the European Union," said the EU's Andrea Ricci, who heads an office concerned with the development of IT. To be a successful player in the sector, Egypt needs to develop its legislation governing the IT sector as well as its practices in the management of human resources, Ricci told the Weekly. Egypt, like other Mediterranean countries, tends to lag behind northern European countries in these areas, he added.
With the convening of meetings by the Federation of IT Exhibitions in the Mediterranean Area (FERAM) alongside the SMAU, Egypt had another opportunity to promote its IT sector. Egypt's Al-Ahram Computer and IT Exhibition (ACITEX) is a member of the federation, which brings together organisations that hold IT exhibitions in Mediterranean countries. FERAM's members include organisations from France, Italy, Spain and Turkey.
Tangible benefits from membership in FERAM may be coming Egypt's way in the near future. The organisation's reputation puts its members high on the EU's list for the funding of IT projects, according to Ricci. Later this month, EU representatives will visit Cairo to discuss with the Egyptian government the possibility of funding IT initiatives.
In the meantime, Egyptian IT companies will be busy preparing for an exhibition scheduled to be held in Rome during March 2001. At the fair, which is being organised by the Milan Chamber of Commerce, Egypt will be the guest of honour, a status granted by the exhibition to a single country each year.
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