28 June - 4 July 2001
Issue No.540
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 June - 4 July 2001 Issue No.540 |
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Click on Italy
Italy has made great strides in the expansion of its IT sector in recent years. It is eyeing Egypt's IT sector as a springboard to the Middle East, writes Eman Youssef from Bari
Representatives of Italian companies expressed their keen interest in becoming more involved in Egypt's fledgling IT sector at the Smau Tecnorama fair (International Exhibition for Information and Communication Technology) held recently in Bari, Italy.
IT enthusiasts from Mediterranean and Balkan countries converge on Bari
photo: Eman Youssef
Management from two Egyptian IT companies attended the fair held in Italy's south with support from the Italian Trade Centre in Cairo.
The first of two fairs that the 37-year-old Smau organisation will hold in Italy this year, Smau Tecnorama was directed specifically at promoting IT technology in Italy's south, the Balkans and the Middle East.
Salvatore Bosco, president of the National Institute for Foreign Trade, said, "[Cooperation with Italy] will give Egypt the opportunity to benefit from the Italian experience in IT."
Having expressed optimism about the future of IT in Egypt, Vincenzo Vita, under-secretary at the Italian Ministry of Communication, noted that the Italian sector, like Egypt, experienced growing pains. "We are finally overcoming a difficult period. Italy was a very backward country in terms of technology. Until a few years ago, discussing computing was considered highly eccentric and our regulations were extremely outdated," Vita said.
Italian investors are eyeing their fellow Mediterranean country as a potential springboard into the Middle East. "Egypt has one of the fastest growth rates in IT among Middle East countries, but it must work quickly to solve the problem of teaching new skills and retraining workers," said Bruno Lamborghini, president of the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO).
Egyptian visitors to the fair expressed enthusiasm about the event. Amr Sorour, general manager of the Arab Engineering and Distribution Company, said that the exhibition was a good opportunity to learn about the latest Italian IT technologies. Mohamed Nofal chairman of HiTechnoFal Company, which deals in computer systems and network solutions, signed a memorandum of understanding with Studiodelta, an Italian IT company. "The event was worth attending. We will be back next year," Nofal added.
Smau Tecnorama saw the participation of approximately 200 companies that exhibited the latest in IT technologies including hardware, software, multimedia, telecommunications, computers and networking services. Bosco said, "More than 20,000 visitors visited the fair, including 13 foreign delegations from 16 countries in the Balkans region and the Middle East such as Egypt and Tunisia."
Additional opportunities for cooperation between Italy and Egypt in the field of IT are likely to arise next February when an Italian delegation attends the Al-Ahram Computer and Information Technology Exhibition (ACITEX) in Cairo.
Antonio Emanueli, Smau's president said that Italy's IT sector grew by 14 per cent last year and generated $56.2 billion in revenues.
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