Cairo – Arab Republic of Egypt

In an article in the Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper entitled The Digital Economy and the Strategic Independence of the State, by His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Elkhosht, President of Cairo University, said that “no one can deny that digital smart technology is a necessity in managing the modern nation state, whether at the strategic level in terms of economic, political and social terms, or at the level of the daily lives of individuals; This is after the acceleration of the information and technological revolution, and the repercussions this revolution led to in the performance of exchange, communication and inevitable interactions between all international, regional and local parties.

This is a matter that has become a reality, and whoever was late in realizing this fact, the Covid-19 pandemic that shocked the whole world surprised him to reaffirm this urgent demand for smart digital technology.

We have seen the importance of this closely at Cairo University at the level of the educational process, examinations, scientific research, financial inclusion, and management governance. Which not only led to the rapid adaptation to the Corona pandemic, but also led to contributing to progress in international classifications, obtaining international accreditation and international ISO certificates for a large number of colleges and programs.

As His Excellency Dr. Al-Khasht: “The Digital Economy Conference and Exhibition (Seamless Middle East 2022) came as an international occasion to strongly emphasize the importance of digital intelligent transformation in all activities and fields, including the economic field; The economy is the locomotive of states towards strength and progress and the achievement of a dignified life for peoples, and it is an important mechanism for achieving the “regional economic unity” of the Arab world, and transforming it into a global economic power.”

And he added: “I imagine that we must discuss the most important challenges facing the digital economy in our region, and perhaps the most prominent of them are:

First: The decrease in the scope of the digital strategic independence of the national state in the whole world, due to the monopoly of major countries and a few giant companies of data sources, data analysis technology, and the possession of smart digital tools; This raises doubts about the decline in the capabilities of most countries to impose their full sovereignty in cyberspace and the wide variety of digital applications associated with it. Here, it is possible to point out another challenge, which is manifested in the struggle of the major powers to control the cyberspace to the same extent as the struggle over the cosmic space, until the cyberspace has become a new arena for wars and conflict, and has become a tool of control and extending the colonial influence in its new forms.

Second: The failure to unify the scope of responsibility for digital transformation , and the consequent lack of guaranteeing the unity of the state’s economic path, whether in interaction with the external economy or facing the parallel economy; Where digital transformation, especially in the economic field, raises the question about determining the scope of responsibility for this transformation, and to what extent is the participation of the foreign sector, the private sector and other non-governmental sectors in the digital transformation process? And how can the digital transformation process be organized and legalized to preserve the unity of the state’s economic system within the scope of maintaining the state’s strategic independence in the digital field?

Third: The widening of the digital gap between the countries producing knowledge technology and the countries consuming this technology. In the era of digital transformation, data has become one of the main strategic assets to lead countries politically, economically, culturally and socially. The way this data is processed significantly affects the achievement of sustainable development goals, and even affects the safety of The accuracy and speed of the performance of countries and their stability. Data is of multiple types and dimensions, and the way it is used has wide-ranging implications not only at the level of trade and economic development, but also at the level of achieving societal peace, internal and external security, and then determining the extent of the state’s ability to achieve independence and strategic stability.

Fourth: Weak digital infrastructure in general, and digital economic and financial infrastructure in particular, which poses a great challenge to many poor and developing countries and countries with limited economic capabilities in general, in addition to the obstacle to relying on foreign foreign expertise in establishing this digital infrastructure. The expansion of digital uses since the Covid-19 pandemic revealed the need to establish this structure in many countries in addition to modernizing and expanding it in other countries, which imposed new economic burdens on the budgets of those countries.

خامساً: انتشار الأمية الرقمية بشكل عام، لا سيما في الشئون الاقتصادية والمالية الرقمية، مما يمثل عائقا أمام تحقيق التحول الرقمي في المجال الاقتصادي واعتماده كطريقة عمل جوهرية في عمليات قطاع البنوك. ويزيد من حجم وحدة هذه المشكلة انتشار الجرائم الالكترونية وتنوع أساليبها وتجددها، ويساهم في نجاح هذه الجرائم انخفاض الوعي الرقمي ومحدودية المعرفة بالاستخدامات الالكترونية. وفي المجتمعات التي ما زالت تعاني من أمية القراءة والكتابة، يتجلى هذا التحدي على نحو أكثر خطورة خاصة في مجال الأمن القومي في النطاق الاقتصادي.

He concluded his article by saying: “The five previous challenges impose themselves on the table of priorities, and practical solutions must be thought of; In order to have a smart and strong digital economy, with which the unity of the economic system of the state is achieved, as well as the tightness of management governance processes, which contributes to accelerating sustainable development processes, improving lifestyles, the strength of community capital, and increasing the scope of the state’s general strategic independence.