Information technology is a powerful and effective tool that can change life, economy and societies. At the end of his visit to the Middle East, Bill Gates of Microsoft International, said that Egypt’s ability to produce this technology to the highest standards meant “it is qualified to be the pioneer in the IT sector in the region as the current climate in the country allows for a repeat of the Indian experiment in software production.” He added: “Egypt’s growing role in the region and the world in the IT field confirms its effective presence on the digital map especially after the inauguration of the gigantic ‘e-government’ work — work which began in 2001 and is set for completion in 2007. I announce that our company is committed to supporting Egypt’s efforts and the pioneering role of the Egyptian government.”
Bill Gates’ visit to Cairo and his meetings with some of Egypt’s leadership and the CEOs of IT companies is doubtlessly quite meaningful and shows the degree of importance of modern technology to human life. The visit also revealed the great strides that Egypt had made in the field of IT. Among Egypt’s important and most successful projects have been no subscription fees for use of the Internet and “a computer in every home and a computer for every student” movement. A number of private companies have also invested in the IT sector, all of whom are closely tied to Microsoft which in fact provided the technology and know-how thereby leading to high standards in Egyptian production.
With regard to education, Egypt has varied programs for the service of students and teacher qualification. The programs are aimed at creating a new generation of students able to discover and create and a new generation of teachers and professors able to transfer their knowledge to their students. At university level, the Ministry of Higher Education has provided students with the latest computer programs at nominal cost in addition to collaborating with Microsoft, which provides students at universities and institutions with the latest training and technical programs.
In the tourism sector, Egypt now possesses a strong base on which to build information and communication technology. Since the mid-nineties it has increasingly focused on the Internet with a large number of sites serving tourism. These sites give full details of international conferences and exhibitions, sports and tourism festivals as well as cultural and therapeutic tourism. The field therefore is wide open for investment.
These great strides that Egypt has made in the IT sector didn’t come simply out of the Egyptian people’s desire to catch up with the fast-moving technology train but also out of honest devotion to the principle of peace and attempt to achieve it. For any advance, whether scientific or economic, can only be achieved in a climate of security and the desire for peace, not only inside the country but also in neighboring countries and for all nations who dream of world peace. World peace is our only dream and desire at the moment; it is something that all nations on earth have been striving for and therefore any country that goes against the international consensus in this quest will not achieve any significant success in the field of growth — it will instead misdirect all efforts to the military which in time will destroy its economic abilities.
