08 September 2021

The government of Egypt is coming to the aid of its neighbour, Libya, by helping to rebuild the telecommunications services due to the damage caused by the country’s civil wars of the past decade.

Amr Talaat, the country’s minister of communications and information technology (ICT), met Faisal Ahmed Qarqab, chairman of the Libyan Telecoms Holding Company, to discuss collaboration, according to media reports.

At their meeting, both officials agreed on the formation of a joint working team that will develop a collaboration plan as well as a schedule for the implementation of cooperation projects.

The government of Libya is seeking to revive the sector to keep the pace with global digital transformation.

Talaat said the initiative will help restore the Libyan telecom and ICT market. It will focus on various segments including the development of digital infrastructure, digital transformation, postal services, capacity building, development of digital skills of youth in various communication sciences and information technology, development of the legal framework of the ICT sector, and training of Libyan workers in cybersecurity.

As part of the agreement, Egypt said it will grant Libya its expertise to improve access to quality telecom services for the population and increase the financial contribution of the sector to the state’s finances.

It is hoped that it will foster the return of international financial exchanges via mobile and online as well as the attraction of new investors.