The Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat was present for the signing of a cooperation agreement on Saturday between Nokia International and EAI Factory for Advanced Industries to produce Nokia phones in Egypt.
A statement by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology said that the target is to manufacture one million phones during the current year, and production will double in the coming years.
The signing of the cooperation agreement was between HMD International, which owns the global brand Nokia, and Etisal Company for Advanced Industries (EAI) in Egypt.
Target products include feature phones and smart phones.
The agreement was signed by Tamer al-Gamal, General Manager of HMD Company in Egypt, and Managing Director of Etisal Advanced Industries, EAI, Ahmed Abu-Ouf.
The signing was attended by Head of Operations at HMD Global OY,Alain Lejeune, owner of the Nokia brand, Won Chang, Executive Vice President of Products, Executive Director of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority, Amr Mahfouz, Vice President of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority, Hossam Othman, and of leaders of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Etisalat for Advanced Industries, EAI, and HMD.
Talaat said that this agreement comes out of the state’s efforts in creating a supportive climate for the growth of international company investments in Egypt.
It also serves to affirm the government’s interest in encouraging the private sector to manufacture within Egyptian factories, he said, thereby transferring their expertise and localizing and developing the electronics industry – creating specialized job opportunities for young people in the field of information technology and electronics.
Talaat pointed out that Egypt is taking steady steps towards deepening local manufacturing in implementation of the presidential initiative “Egypt Makes Electronics”, which aims to enhance Egypt’s position in the field of electronics design and manufacture.
For his part, Abu-Ouf said that the agreement works on the production of mobile phones of international quality, including electronic components, assembly, packaging and testing, to be completely similar to international products in quality and efficiency.
He added that this would achieve Egypt’s strategy in its endeavor to localize the technology industry and make Egypt a regional center for advanced industries.
Gamal said that under the agreement, HMD will provide EAI Factory with production requirements of raw materials, inspection and testing tools, and calibration equipment necessary for the production process.
