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NTRA Participates in Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
 8 November 2020

Egypt, represented by the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), is participating in the 15th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) scheduled to take place in the period from 9 to 17 November 2020, under the theme, “Internet United”.

This year’s Forum sheds light on the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic on the digital ecosystem, the best effective models for capitalizing on digital solutions in facing the global pandemic, and the international governance mechanisms and tools required to mitigate the negative repercussions and optimize the internet’s role in enabling countries to recover from the adverse consequences on the global economy, and boosting economic and social development.

It should be noted that the NTRA is taking part in several events and activities, in addition to its participation as a member in the UN Secretary-General’s Multistakeholder Advisory Group (MAG). MAG plans and organizes the annual IGF meeting and provides guidance to participants and panelists at its meeting.
 

In addition, the NTRA is presenting the Egyptian experience and measures taken to confront the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as its impact on leveraging the internet in different sectors. In addition, it highlights the solutions adopted to keep pace with the surge of traffic on networks, especially with the attraction of investments amounting to around USD 1.6 billion, infused into the development of the infrastructure in Egypt. These investments have enabled the Egyptian telecommunications market to keep abreast of the changes, effectively, and augmented the user’s confidence in relying on the Internet in different life requirements.

This Forum will discuss how the international network was affected during this year with the speedy switch of many activities around the globe to the digital ecosystem in light of the “normal” and difficulties imposed by the global pandemic. Chief among these difficulties are the challenges of the digital divide, the essentiality of the Internet’s role in attaining effective digital inclusion, and the trends adopted to keep pace with the continual increase in the traffic on networks, its effects on the technical and regulatory aspects for operators and telecom regulatory authorities around the world. In addition, these new conditions set forth novel opportunities for the deployment and adoption of innovative digital solutions, and expedited the digital transformation in various areas, ranging from education to shopping.

IGF 2020 is being held online, for a period of two weeks. Its sessions are grouped into four main thematic tracks: data governance frameworks, environmental impacts of digital solutions, trust and security in the digital environment.

This year’s Forum also deals with the “Roadmap for Digital Cooperation” Initiative that was launched by the UN Secretary-General with Egyptian participation in the middle of this year. Furthermore, it addresses the role that IGF will play as it is the official institutional framework under the umbrella of the United Nations with the intention of achieving the goals of the initiative. Chief among these goals are the enhancement of the cooperation between countries and between various stakeholders to capitalize on the digital opportunities and augment their positive impact, especially in the developing countries. Anther significant goal is to boost cooperation to find internationally-consistent solutions to encounter the emerging challenges imposed by the digital ecosystem on all countries around the globe in a way that consolidates the continuation of innovation and spurs investments in the digital economy.