By: Ghada Helmy - Sarah Nour El-Din
at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, witnessed the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA) and Siemens, a company specialized in developing software for digital industries. With the aim of enhancing strategic cooperation to expand electronic design work and research and development operations in advanced technologies at the company’s center in Egypt, in the presence of Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and Mike Elo, Executive Vice President of Siemens, which specializes in developing software for digital industries.
The agreement was signed by Eng. Ahmed Al-Dhaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA), and Dr. Hazem El-Tahawy, Vice President and CEO of Siemens in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Following the signing, the Prime Minister referred to his recent visit to the headquarters of Siemens, a company specialized in developing software for digital industries in Egypt, expressing his appreciation for what he witnessed of young Egyptian talents working in this important sector that aims to export technological services to the global market.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly praised the efficiency of the infrastructure at the company’s headquarters in Egypt, calling on the company to pump more investments and expand into the Egyptian market, stressing that the Egyptian government has limitless ambition towards the localization and development of this industry.
In response, Mike Elo, Executive Vice President of the company, confirmed that the company is interested in the Egyptian market and has ambitious plans to work in it during the coming period.
The memorandum of understanding comes within the framework of the Egyptian government’s keenness to create an attractive environment for foreign investment and to establish effective and fruitful partnerships with the private sector in light of the government’s continued support for the Egyptian information technology sector, and joint cooperation with major international companies to enhance the country’s competitive capabilities in the cross-border information technology services industry and accelerate efforts. Technological innovation in Egypt.
The memorandum of understanding stipulates that Siemens, in cooperation with ITIDA, will work to add an average of 20% of new Egyptian employees annually to reach 1,800 Egyptian employees within 3 years.
On the sidelines of the signing, Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, confirmed that the signing of the memorandum of understanding enhances the efforts made in implementing the “Egypt Manufactures Electronics” strategy, which aims to localize the electronics industry, as this memorandum includes many areas of cooperation that represent basic pillars for the advancement of this vital industry. He explained the importance of this partnership to benefit from global expertise in transferring knowledge and supporting research and development activities in the field of design and manufacturing of electronics and advanced technologies, which enhances the competitiveness of the communications and information technology sector at the global level.
Under the memorandum of understanding, the Information Technology Industry Development Authority will provide the necessary logistical support to Siemens to expand its operations in Egypt, especially related to software engineering, research and development, and electronics design. Cooperation between the two parties aims to enhance innovation efforts and technological excellence in the fields of electronics design in Egypt, and create New job opportunities for Egyptian youth in these fields.
For his part, Engineer Ahmed Al-Zaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA), said: The partnership with Siemens contributes to the growth of Egypt’s digital exports in the field of electronics design, and works to enhance Egypt’s competitive potential as an attractive destination for international companies in the field of technology development. Advanced and value-added services, noting that the Authority is working to attract more foreign investments and service centers for export-oriented international technology companies, which contributes to creating distinguished and qualitative job opportunities for Egyptian youth.
The partnership between ITIDA and Siemens aims to encourage joint cooperation in building the capabilities of local competencies and expertise through training on the latest electronic design technologies and creating job opportunities in line with the company’s expansion plans in Egypt, as well as qualifying and building specialized engineering cadres, and cooperation in empowering companies. Emerging in the field of electronics design.
Al-Zaher added: The Information Technology Industry Development Authority will coordinate efforts to reach the trained competencies of Egyptian engineers, as well as help the company to benefit from the services available to localize the electronics industry in Egypt, through which the government aims to enhance Egypt’s position as a leading interface for the electronics industry and innovation in Digital services.
For his part, Mike Elo, Executive Vice President of the company, said: The memorandum of understanding highlights many important points, which include the successes the company has achieved in Egypt over the course of 28 years as a pioneering company in leading and developing semiconductor design technology and advanced electronics in Egypt.
He added that this success is due to the presence of the best engineering talents and cadres in Egypt, and confirms the fruitful and ongoing cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the ITIDA Authority to develop the technological business environment in Egypt, noting that the memorandum of understanding represents a continuation of the close cooperation between the company and the Egyptian government. To support the future growth of the Advanced Development Center in Egypt, stressing that the company intends to support local emerging, small and medium-sized companies, thus contributing to strengthening Egypt’s position and promoting it as a technology center in the region.
Under the memorandum of understanding, Siemens will enhance cooperation between the Siemens Academy of Excellence and academic institutions in Egypt, including the National Telecommunications Institute, the Information Technology Institute, and the American University in Cairo, to support Egyptian cadres through a set of training initiatives whose implementation is supervised by the Ministry of Communications. And information technology. The company is also committed to enhancing the digital capabilities and skills of Egyptian cadres and transferring knowledge and recent developments in the fields of electronic design and the company’s CAD tools for digital design, in a way that enhances knowledge exchange, research cooperation and the exchange of best practices to drive innovation and enhance Egypt’s competitiveness in the field of technological innovation.
The partnership between the two parties also aims to empower Egyptian startups working in the field of electronics design and enhance the innovation ecosystem through various relevant initiatives, including Siemens’ provision of electronic design automation (EDA) tools, training, and providing the necessary technical support to entrepreneurs in these fields.
