Egypt: President El-Sisi Meets the Prime Minister and the Minister of Communications
Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly; Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Amr Talaat; and Director of the Military Academy, Lieutenant-General Ashraf Zahir.
Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, stated that the meeting focused on the government’s efforts regarding the “Digilians” initiative, which aims to qualify and train young people in the fields of communications, information technology, and software. This initiative is intended to serve as a cornerstone in the digital transformation process and enhance digital exports as part of the strategy for national economic development.
The Minister of Communications and Information Technology offered an overview of the initiative’s details. He noted that it focuses on providing training for employment by creating job opportunities in high-demand fields such as Artificial Intelligence, programming, cybersecurity, digital design, and digital arts. He added that the initiative will be open for registration to individuals of all age groups, from various academic and professional backgrounds, and from all Egyptian governorates, in an effort to expand the base of beneficiaries.
During the meeting, it was confirmed that applications to join the initiative would be digital, and that the application window would open on the platform that will be created for this purpose after Eid Al-Fitr holiday. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will announce this, as the goal is to qualify the largest possible number of young people to work in the most in-demand fields in the information labor market. The Minister of Communications and Information Technology noted that the initiative is based on the idea of full residency for its beneficiaries in equipped places, with an agreement reached with the Military Academy to utilize the buildings of the War College in Heliopolis for this purpose after the college’s relocation to the New Administrative Capital.
The Minister of Communications and Information Technology said the initiative will include providing comprehensive training courses for the beneficiaries, whether technical training, personal skills, or English language. It will also include practical training in cooperation with major international and local companies operating in Egypt. Dr. Talaat added that the initiative includes tracks to obtain a master’s degree from a number of the most prestigious international universities, in addition to four training tracks ranging in duration from four months to two years. The goal is to accept 5000 students annually to benefit from the initiative, taking into account that the cost of preparing accommodation and study spaces will amount to approximately three billion Egyptian pounds, while the cost of training courses will amount to approximately one billion Egyptian pounds annually.
President El-Sisi gave directives to reinforce the criteria of accuracy, transparency, and impartiality in the beneficiary selection process, in order to foster public confidence in the initiative, particularly since it will help qualify its beneficiaries to join the jobs required in the labor market.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
