3 - 9 May 2001
Issue No.532
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 3 - 9 May 2001 Issue No.532 |
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Vistas for IT cooperation
Egypt and Ireland are set for greater cooperation in the area of IT and communications, Niveen Wahish reports
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ahmed Nazif returned this week from a three-day visit to Ireland. The aim of the visit, according to Ali Muselhi, information infrastructure programme manager at the ministry of communications and IT, was to convey the huge developments that Egypt's IT and communications sector has undergone over the past couple of years. Nazif's visit to Ireland also aimed at following up on the results of a visit by an Irish trade mission to Cairo last February.
Nasif
Muselhi
Muselhi said Egypt is well-positioned to play an important role as a communications hub in the Middle East and as a cost effective off-shore developer for software -- elements that should attract foreign investors. He pointed out that Egypt could learn a lot from the Irish experience in orienting its IT industry towards exportation, a target which Egypt has set for itself, too.
Cooperation with Irish companies could take the form of partnerships and joint ventures. Alternatively, Irish companies could set up in any of Egypt's free zones, said Muselhi. He pointed out that the Irish delegation's visit is already bearing fruit. In fact, one Egyptian company has been contracted for software offshore development for an Irish company.
A member of the Irish delegation that visited Egypt, Jim Toomey, manager of the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt Desk at Enterprise Ireland, which offers developmental, technology and marketing aid and consultancy to Irish small and medium enterprises, is also optimistic about the potential for cooperation between the two countries in this area. He said one of the important results of the visit is that good contacts were established and many of the Irish companies discussed areas for collaboration and partnership, as well as joint projects with the Egyptian side. "We estimate the direct business that will result from this collaboration will be between $10 and $15 million."
Toomey also pointed out that the area of subcontracting holds good potential for the Egyptian software industry. "Ireland has a huge skills shortage and Egypt could assist in this domain," he said. "Since many Irish companies are already looking to India for such services, Egyptian companies have to prove their expertise, reliability, professionalism and speed."
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