The launch of the activities of the World of Artificial Intelligence Exhibition – AI Everything Middle East and Africa

Today, artificial intelligence has become a decisive criterion for measuring the power of countries and their ability to shape their economic and cognitive future. In a world where digital transformations are accelerating at an unprecedented pace, attention is turning to countries that have a clear vision to employ these technologies to support development, enhance competitiveness, and build a knowledge-based economy.

In this context, Egypt’s hosting of the first regional summit for the “World of Artificial Intelligence (AI Everything)” reflects a strategic direction that places Cairo in an advanced position on the map of regional innovation, given that the event is an important milestone within the path of implementing the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence (2025-2030), in addition to confirming the country’s endeavor to consolidate its position as a regional center for advanced technology, attract investments, and develop talent capable of leading digital transformation in various sectors.

Egypt is a regional platform for the artificial intelligence industry

In this context, Eng. Raafat Hindi, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, confirmed in his speech delivered on his behalf by Eng. Ahmed Al-Zaher, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA), that Egypt’s hosting of the first regional summit for the “World of Artificial Intelligence” AI Everything reflects its keenness to be the regional platform for innovation, investment, and talent development driving the transformation based on artificial intelligence.

He also pointed to the efforts of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in developing a group of national applications that rely onArtificial Intelligence techniques in a number of fields, including early detection of diseases, education, machine translation, supporting government services, and converting audio into written text.

Exchanging experiences, exploring opportunities, and strengthening international partnerships

The activities of the “World of Artificial Intelligence AI Everything” Summit and Exhibition – Middle East and Africa were held over the course of two days, February 11-12, with the participation of an elite group of decision makers, leaders of global technology companies, more than 100 investors, experts, specialists and entrepreneurs from more than 30 countries.

Artificial Intelligence is a national ability to achieve impact

Engineer Raafat Hindi explained that Digital Egypt deals with artificial intelligence as a national ability to achieve impact, stemming from the public interest, responding to societal needs, and compatible with development priorities, adding that this approach is presented through an integrated, multi-axial framework, where each axis represents a practical dimension of how artificial intelligence moves from infrastructure to meaning, reaching real value in people’s lives.

The first axis: “Intelligence”, aims to build national capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence, by developing models that understand the Arabic language, the nature of national institutions, and the Egyptian cultural context. Therefore, he announced the launch of a huge national linguistic model to be part of the public digital infrastructure, which is the “Karnak” model, which is the highest rated Arabic linguistic model in the 30-40 category, and 70-80 billion parameters – which is the unit of measurement for data capacity that the artificial intelligence model uses to generate information for the user, and the capacity increases with use – to form a basis that provides broader opportunities for emerging companies and the private sector to build applications using artificial intelligence that meet the needs of Egyptian society.

Meeting public needs and governance of services

He added that the second axis is based on employing artificial intelligence in applications that stem from the needs of society, and not from the technology itself. Announcing the launch of the first version of the two leading national applications based on the “Karnak” model, they are: “Sia”: a personal smart tutor to support students and teachers in the Arabic language and Egyptian history courses at the secondary level, and the second is a smart assistant for legal and regulatory guidance, to help citizens and small companies understand regulatory frameworks.

As for the third axis, the Minister explained that it is governance in public services by integrating artificial intelligence technologies into Egypt’s digital services platform. Pointing to the AcQua application, which relies on natural language processing techniques to review all Egypt Digital Services call center calls, and monitor any inaccurate information or unprofessional practices, in addition to launching the REACT application as an intelligent assistant based on linguistic models to support customer service center employees.

Enhancing availability and building capabilities in the artificial intelligence system

The fourth axis, availability, focuses on expanding access to artificial intelligence services, by developing smart engines for early detection of eye diseases and breast cancer using local data, while transferring this expertise to Arab and African countries through the AI-Share initiative.

The fifth axis, Capabilities, transforms artificial intelligence into a practical tool for citizens and the state, through national applications such as “Tarjuman” for automatic translation and “Bel Masry” for understanding colloquial dialect and converting audio into text and vice versa, which enhances the efficiency of government institutions and access to information. The fifth axis is concerned with competencies in building human capital from basic digital skills to advanced engineering for artificial intelligence, with training programs and applications such as “languages” to empower the workforce and open new opportunities in the digital economy.

The national strategy and its impact on the economy and society

It is worth noting that Egypt advanced 60 places in the Artificial Intelligence Readiness Index, which reflects the country’s efforts in developing the digital infrastructure and enhancing national capabilities.

This, Egypt launched the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in 2019, to integrate technology into vital sectors such as health, agriculture, education, justice, and government services. With the second phase 2025-2030, artificial intelligence has become part of the national economy within an ethical governance framework, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth and transforming technology into practical value that affects the lives of citizens and opens horizons for investment and local applications.

Exhibition activities and global cooperation opportunities

The exhibition included more than 350 emerging and specialized companies, with the participation of more than 100 investors, experts and entrepreneurs from 30 countries, forming a platform for enhancing technological partnerships and attracting investments. The events included competitions for startup companies, practical training programs with accredited certificates, in addition to a hackathon to highlight smart applications in vital sectors, with sessions and workshops on investment and expansion opportunities in Africa.

The events also witnessed the presence of officials from the government and private sectors, ambassadors and experts from more than 30 countries, reflecting the international character of the summit. This presence highlights Egypt’s keenness to enhance international cooperation and invest in activities to consolidate its position as a regional center for artificial intelligence and an accelerator for innovation and sustainable economic development.

The above shows the extent of the Egyptian state’s interest in achieving comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their economic, social and environmental dimensions, especially Goal (11) sustainable cities and local communities, Goal (16) peace, justice and strong institutions, Goal (17) convening companies to achieve the goals, in addition to Goal (8) decent work and economic growth, and Goal (9) industry, innovation and infrastructure.

In conclusion, the “AI Everything” Summit and Exhibition reflects Egypt’s pioneering role in adopting artificial intelligence as a tool for economic and social development.The Earth Guards Foundation confirms that through the national strategy and practical applications, the state affirms its commitment to transforming artificial intelligence into real value that serves the citizen, enhances innovation, and opens horizons for international investment and partnerships.