Sisi Emphasizes Importance of Strengthening Cooperation Between Government and 'Orange' in Preparing and Qualifying Youth for the Future Labor Market

Cairo – Khadija Hamouda: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between the Egyptian government and the global Orange Group in preparing and qualifying Egyptian youth for the future labor market. This will be achieved by providing specialized training programs and opportunities in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, alongside supporting them in obtaining internationally recognized professional certifications in collaboration with global partners in the technology sector.

This came during President el-Sisi’s meeting yesterday with Christelle Haudecoeur, Chief Executive Officer of the global Orange Group, attended by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hendy, Yasser Shaker, Managing Director of Orange for the Middle East and Africa, and Hisham Mehran, CEO of Orange Egypt.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy, stated that the meeting discussed areas of joint cooperation with the global Orange Group in the telecommunications and information technology sector, leveraging the Group’s extensive expertise in telecommunications, digital transformation, and the development of technological systems.

The President praised the Group’s success in Egypt in areas such as telecommunications services, digital transformation, smart platforms, community development, digital education, and expressed Egypt’s aspiration to increase the Group’s investments in the Egyptian market, given the promising opportunities for growth and expansion. He also highlighted the multiple initiatives launched by the state in recent years to achieve a qualitative leap in building and developing the capabilities of Egyptian youth and empowering them to utilize modern technologies.

The official spokesperson added that the CEO of the global Orange Group expressed her honor at meeting the President, emphasizing that the successes achieved by the Group in Egypt, in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and various state institutions, represent a successful model that can be utilized and replicated in other countries in the region, particularly in the African continent.

Christelle Haudecoeur also commended the efforts made by the Egyptian government to support startups in various governorates, expressing her appreciation for the initiatives and programs provided by the state to develop youth skills, enhance innovation, and support entrepreneurship.

The spokesperson clarified that the President expressed his aspiration to explore cooperation opportunities with the Orange Group in implementing the second phase of the National Digital Health Project, thereby leveraging its advanced expertise in digital infrastructure, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and system integration. He also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the Egyptian government and the Orange Group in preparing and qualifying Egyptian youth for the future labor market through specialized training programs and opportunities in artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, as well as supporting them in obtaining internationally recognized professional certifications in collaboration with global technology partners.

The spokesperson noted that, in line with the President’s directives to expand digital capacity-building programs for Egyptian youth, the Orange Group announced the provision of training scholarships for approximately 200,000 trainees in the fields of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, including the acquisition of international accreditation certifications. The Group also allocated 25 million euros to support startups operating in the fields of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies, and committed to supporting several Egyptian universities with modern technological laboratories, enabling students to keep pace with the latest practical applications and acquire the necessary skills to excel in advanced digital technology fields.