1. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 A Digital Signature Act for Egypt: Understanding the Challenges! Dr. Sherif Hashem Head, Electronic Signature National Committee Ministry of Communications and Information Technology shashem@mcit.gov.eg

2. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Outline CIT in Egypt E-commerce in Egypt An Electronic Signature Act The road ahead

3. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 CIT In Egypt

4. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 National CIT Plan (Dec`1999) CIT Industry Development Human Resource Development Communication Infrastructure Development Information Infrastructure Development

5. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Internet Access in Egypt 1M users (estimated) compared to 407M WW (NUA Survey – Nov`00) Most access is in the capital & major cities Internet utilization rate of 1 in 65 compared to a WW rate of 1 in 14 60+ ISPs Cost: dialup $25-lifetime FREE Internet

6. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Some Key CIT Challenges Content Culture Language Skills Access to computers Access to the Internet Access to software Access to technical expertise

7. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 E-Commerce In Egypt Highlights

8. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Egypts E-commerce Highlights Oct97ISE-Ecommerce Committee formed Aug981 st meeting of the National Ecommerce Committee Sep981 st National Seminar on Ecommerce Sep99Ecommerce initiative declared Oct99Ecommerce in the National CIT Plan 2000-01Cyber laws (e-signature, e-payment,..); Government Pilots; Private Portals

9. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Some Key Issues Legislation (cyber laws): Electronic signature Taxation Jurisdiction Encryption, IPR, privacy, consumer protection, etc. Regulation (Certificate Authorities, etc.) Banking infrastructure (e-payment) E-Insurance (financial, commerce, etc.) E-Education & E-Knowledge

10. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Some Key Questions?! Who is responsible for E-commerce? How can government empower the use of E-commerce? How can SMEs understand the challenges and opportunities of E-commerce? How to help create, empower, and support Egyptian E-business models? Where do we go from here?

11. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 An Electronic Signature Act for Egypt An Overview

12. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Drafting an Electronic Signature Act: The Process National Electronic Signature Committee (entities): Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Ministry of Justice Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade Ministry of Finance Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Interior Ministry for Administrative Development Central Bank of Egypt Cabinet Information & Decision Support Center

13. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Drafting an Electronic Signature Act: The Process (Cont.) National Electronic Signature Committee (legal and technology experts): Governmental, Private sector, and Academic

14. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 Drafting an Electronic Signature Act: Some Key Issues Amending existing laws vs. creating a new law Recognition of electronic/digital documents and signatures Creation of a state organization for regulatory, licensing, and supervisory roles General awareness and training programs Protecting IPR and privacy

15. ITU E-Commerce Conference for the Arab Region - May 2001 For More Information visit Ministry of Communications and Information Technology http://www.mcit.gov.eg/ or e-mail: shashem@mcit.gov.eg http://www.mcit.gov.eg/ Thank You ……