The Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed the importance of digitisation as the driving force behind infrastructure development in education, transportation, and industry.
This statement by Minister of International Co-operation Rania al-Mashat came during her virtual participation in the 2021 African Caucus Meeting of the Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), hosted by Burundi.
Digitisation is no longer just an option and immense investments in digital infrastructure have become critical to facilitate the transition of countries towards a digital economy, al-Mashat added.
Consequently, many international financial institutions are reformulating their strategies for the next five years with digitisation as their main priority, she said.
The success of development efforts at the present time has become contingent on the magnitude of investments dedicated for developing digital infrastructure, the minister said.
The strategy of digital transformation in Africa is creating an investment-friendly environment, providing finance to bridge the gap in the digital infrastructure, and facilitating electronic services and access to the Internet for all citizens without discrimination and at reasonable prices, she explained.
This emphasises the need to encourage the private sector to invest in developing digital infrastructure in the African continent, she said.
Highlighting national efforts in Egypt to achieve digital transformation, she went on to say that the state plans to build a digital Egypt to develop a flexible and secure digital infrastructure and establish legislative and regulatory frameworks that support digital transformation.
The plan aims to equip government buildings with fibre optic connections to link about 32,000 government buildings together and enhance digital services for the people, she said.
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