Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hindi met on Wednesday with Naim Yazbeck, President of Microsoft for the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and his accompanying delegation, to discuss avenues for strengthening co-operation in artificial intelligence (AI).
Talks focused on expanding joint efforts to accelerate the adoption of AI technologies in support of Egypt’s digital transformation agenda.
Minister Hindi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to leveraging emerging technologies, particularly AI, as a key driver of economic growth and competitiveness.
He highlighted ongoing work to implement the second phase of Egypt’s National AI Strategy (2025-2030), aiming to maximise the benefits of AI across sectors.
The minister underscored the importance of deepening partnerships with leading global technology firms, including Microsoft, to facilitate knowledge transfer and support the localisation of advanced technologies.
Such co-operation, he noted, is essential to building national capacities, equipping the workforce with future-ready skills, and enhancing the efficiency of public services through the integration of AI-powered solutions into government operations.
Hindi also stressed the ministry’s efforts to support startups in developing innovative AI applications and to broaden the deployment of these technologies across key sectors, in line with the government’s objective of delivering more efficient and accessible digital services to citizens.
The two sides reviewed ongoing collaboration between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Microsoft Egypt, including a memorandum of understanding supporting the rollout of the National AI Strategy’s second phase. The memo includes training and upskilling around 100,000 young people and professionals working in IT and digital transformation units across government entities.
Discussions during the meeting also covered applications developed by the ministry’s Applied Innovation Centre, as well as prospects for co-operation with Microsoft to integrate the centre’s Arabic large language model, “Karnak,” with Microsoft’s cloud platforms in Egypt.
