Engineer Raafat Hendy, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, shared that Egypt's National AI Strategy was first launched in 2019. It was designed to be a core foundation for building 'Digital Egypt.' Now, as we enter the second phase of this strategy, we're really speeding up how we use AI technologies in key sectors, all while keeping ethical and responsible governance in mind.
He added that hosting the very first regional 'AI Everything' summit truly shows Egypt's big dream: to become a regional center for AI innovation, investment, and talent, building on Egypt's already leading role in the region for this field.
Engineer Ahmed El Zaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), spoke on behalf of Minister Raafat Hendy at the 'AI Everything' summit. He explained that the AI Everything Middle East & Africa – Egypt 2026 summit is much more than just an event. It's a launchpad for innovation, investment, and collaboration, designed to show the world how strong Egypt's AI ecosystem is. This event brings together startups, global tech leaders, and decision-makers. The goal is to turn big ambitions into real-world impact, expand innovation, and solidify Egypt's reputation as a trusted regional and global hub for AI development and the digital economy.
Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of the 'AI Everything' summit, highlighted that AI is the fastest industrial transformation we're seeing today, and speed has become the new measure of power. She believes that whoever moves first and can gather support widely and quickly will be the one to shape what comes next.
She also pointed out that Egypt is a strong player in this exciting landscape. The opening of an AI exhibition marks the beginning of a new era for Egypt and the entire region, where big dreams, capabilities, and momentum are all coming together to reshape our future.
During the summit, a whole suite of national AI applications was launched! A standout is the 'Karnak' application, which is a large language model. We heard that the first versions of two national apps were developed using this model: 'SIA,' a smart personal teacher designed to help high school students learn Arabic language and Egyptian history, and a smart assistant for legal and regulatory guidance, which aims to help citizens and small businesses easily understand complex rules and regulations.
There were also exciting announcements about the 'AcQua' application. This app uses natural language processing (NLP) to review all calls made to the Digital Egypt services call center, helping to catch any incorrect information or unprofessional behavior. Plus, new AI healthcare applications, trained right here in Egypt, were launched to help with the early detection of breast cancer, diabetic retinopathy, and macular edema (eye conditions caused by diabetes).
Another big announcement was the 'AI-Share' initiative. This is a fantastic collaboration between the Applied Innovation Center (part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Through this initiative, the solutions developed by the center will be shared, and expertise will be transferred to other Arab and African countries.
Other cool initiatives unveiled included the 'Turjuman' application, which offers specialized machine translation, and the 'Bil Masry' application. This system is designed to understand the Egyptian colloquial dialect and can do things like convert spoken words into text, translate, and even turn written text into speech. To boost our national capabilities even further, the 'Lughat' application was launched. It's based on large language models and aims to make English language learning widely available, which will help improve our workforce's readiness and open up more job opportunities in the private sector.
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