Egypt, Nigeria team up on ICT

Johannesburg, 13 May 2004

Egypt`s ministry of communications and IT has signed a two-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its Nigerian counterpart, with the aim of promoting business and investment opportunities in the ICT sector.

The two nations have agreed to promote collaboration in capacity-building and human resource development through exchange programmes between Egypt`s National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) and the Digital Bridge Institute in Nigeria.

On the regulatory front, the MOU will support cooperation among African regulatory associations through sharing of experience in terms of regulatory activities, policies, practices and know-how, while seeking to harmonise technical standards and regulatory policies across the continent.

The MOU will also seek to facilitate and encourage the creation of joint partnerships between businesses in the areas of manufacturing and service provision, in order to stimulate investment.

Egypt is sharing its experience in developing technology parks, namely its Smart Village concept, with Nigeria.

The North African nation has already organised and hosted - under the auspices of the recent ITU Telecom Africa 2004 conference - a specialised training programme on ICT, implemented at the NTI, for 16 professionals from 10 governments in Africa.

Meanwhile, the ITU reports that its Internet Training Centre (ITC) initiative in Africa has surpassed its goal to expand the number of training centres and the participation level of female students.

The ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau launched the ITC initiative for developing countries in May 2001, with the aim of providing students and professionals in developing countries with affordable and relevant IT training in IP networking.

The goals of the project included the establishment of 50 ITCs worldwide by the end of 2003, with an overall female enrolment of 30%. There are now 53 centres in operation globally, with more than 3 000 students enrolled.