Dr. Abdelkhalek Ibrahim, Technical Affairs Assistant to Egypt’s Minister of Housing, met with officials from the Global Organization for Sustainable Smart Cities during the World Urban Forum to discuss collaboration on sustainable smart city initiatives. The meeting aligns with directives from Housing Minister Sherif El-Sherbiny and reflects Egypt’s commitment to advancing urban development through modern technology.
Dr. Ibrahim presented Egypt’s experience in creating and developing new cities under the Ministry of Housing, represented by the New Urban Communities Authority. He explained that Egypt has embarked on establishing Fourth-Generation cities—smart, sustainable urban centers—and is simultaneously upgrading earlier generations of new cities.
He also highlighted Minister El-Sherbiny’s recent participation in launching Egypt’s National Smart Cities Strategy, designed to address diverse challenges by advancing both existing and future cities. The strategy serves as a cornerstone for achieving sustainable development and comprehensive digital transformation in Egypt.
The strategy emphasizes strengthening technological infrastructure and enhancing smart services across sectors like healthcare, education, transportation, and energy. This approach aims for efficient resource management while meeting citizens’ needs through modern, sustainable methods. Additionally, it supports economic efficiency by fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in technology, energy, and logistics, contributing to economic growth, job creation, and attracting foreign investment.
Beyond economic impacts, the strategy enhances quality of life by offering citizens more efficient, convenient services, such as smart education, remote healthcare, and simplified mobility, which ultimately enrich community development.
Furthermore, the National Smart Cities Strategy prioritizes environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions and managing resources efficiently, with a strong focus on renewable energy and smart transportation systems. It also promotes good governance and transparency through digital management systems, which streamline government-citizen interactions and provide responsive solutions to citizen inquiries and issues.
This collaboration signifies a major step in Egypt’s drive towards smart, resilient, and eco-friendly urban communities, meeting both present and future challenges with innovative solutions.