The formation of the new government under Dr. Mohammad Nazif revived hopes for economic growth and for the creation of an information society, one that can take Egypt into a new technological era, one that can bring it up to date with current technological development in a world where the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector outperforms other conventional sectors of the economy. Does Egypt have an information society that can boost economic growth? And if such a society exists, even tentatively, how can we develop it further? The new Prime Minister, with his ICT background, must be particularly aware of the requisites of the free market and economic globalisation.

One of the new government's priorities is to implement the e-government project, as part of President Mubarak's initiative to turn Egypt into an information society. Earlier, efforts have been made to prepare Egypt for the digital age, alleviate red-tape, reform taxes, attract investment, and build a strong ICT industry focusing on exports.

As part of Egypt's bid to complete the legislative work facilitating its entry into the ICT age, the country has passed laws concerning intellectual property, e-commerce, consumer protection, computer piracy, and e-signature. The above measures were taken in response to the growth of e-commerce worldwide. E-commerce has posed a challenge for governments across the globe, forcing the latter to provide the infrastructure suitable for ICT growth as well as the legal framework providing maximum security for e-transactions.

Egypt has come up with an initiative to create an information society and a strong, export-oriented ICT industry. The initiative rests on seven points:

1. Digital preparedness, which involves providing ICT services to all citizens across the country.
2. E-government, which involves providing government services to citizens and investors wherever they are and at the required speed.
3. Electronic infrastructure, which involves building an information society, a society that can function with less hardcopy and banknotes.
4. E-education, which involves raising the competitive capabilities of the Egyptian workforce. The education and higher education ministries are actively introducing ICT in curricula, an effort which involves the use of interactive systems.
5. Digitalization of the health sector, which is conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Health.
6. Digital documentation of the country's cultural legacy and natural wealth. The Center for Documenting Cultural and Natural Heritage has been set up in cooperation with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
7. Promotion of the ICT industry with the aim of increasing Egyptian ICT exports and motivating global ICT companies to base their African and Middle East operations in Egypt.

In a study prepared for the Davos World Economic Forum about the challenges of ICT development in the Arab world, Arab countries were divided into three categories: a fast growth group, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates; an emerging group, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, and a starter group, including Morocco, Oman, and Syria.

The digital preparedness index gauges the digital business environment, the viability of ICT infrastructure, government computerisation, and the size of e-commerce in various countries. In 2003, a list was published of countries gauged by that index. The list includes 60 countries, only three of which are Arab: Saudi Arabia (ranked 45), Egypt (ranked 51), and Algeria (ranked 58).

Egypt has made immense effort to provide the right environment for a scientific and technological breakthrough, but time is needed for such effort to pay off, and there is need for further steps to be taken. Information society does not require an intricate web of legal measures, but it calls for a full awareness of the goal and structure of that society.

Information society requires a strong infrastructure and legal environment, training systems for personnel, improved education, and incentives to local and foreign investment. It requires freedom and transparency in the transfer and use of data, as well as a democratic climate allowing for the type of diversity that encourages innovation. The new government needs to rid the domestic electronics industry from its endemic problems. Most of these problems are not as related to scientific and technical inadequacy or the shortage of personnel as they are to managerial shortcomings and the lack of vision. The government should support local industry, improve education and electronics curricula, and form a national agency to co-ordinate among various services.

The e-government can materialise through appropriate technical solutions guaranteeing the probity of government services, the reduction of red-tape, and the integration of domestic information systems with foreign agencies. This going to be particularly important in the light of the expected growth of e-commerce over the next few years, with the signing of GATT and the increased use of the internet