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Rabat – As Egypt prepares to host Ai Everything MEA 2026, Ayman Hassan, Commercial Vice President at GITEX, outlined in an interview with Morocco World News (MWN) the event’s vision for positioning the country as a regional and international center for artificial intelligence.
With over 20 years of experience in commercial leadership across technology, telecommunications, and large-scale business events, Hassan plays a central role in shaping the strategy and partnerships that drive the platform.
Collaboration at the core of AI development
“In my experience across tech and events platforms, I’ve learnt that artificial intelligence or any frontier new technology can only achieve its true potential when collaboration comes first. AI cannot be scaled in silos, it needs strong alignment between global governments, industry, investors and startups,” Hassan told MWN.
He explained that this principle shapes the approach of Ai Everything MEA Egypt. “This belief defines how we approach Ai Everything MEA Egypt: a platform built to open new corridors of global and regional cooperation – accelerating research, enabling deployment, and driving AI into real-world industry use-cases that generate measurable business and societal dividends.”
Hassan added, “Our ambition is clear: to position Egypt as a regional and international hub for AI collaborations, research, advancement, and deployment.”
Translating strategy into tangible opportunities
Hassan emphasized that Ai Everything’s commercial strategy is designed to create tangible opportunities for both businesses and governments.
“Ai Everything MEA Egypt directly connects Egypt’s fast-scaling AI and startup communities to the world’s most influential tech ecosystems – including investors, policymakers, global tech enterprises and international trade councils. It is designed to be a long-term platform for collaboration.”
He noted the alignment with national priorities. “Our commercial strategy is aligned with national priorities – developing digital skills, driving foreign direct investment, establishing governance frameworks, and infrastructure development. This, in turn, benefits not only Egypt’s AI progress but also supports Africa & Middle East’s AI ambitions, translating AI strategies directly into economic value – especially for the region’s core growth sectors like digital finance, cybersecurity, data centers, healthcare, manufacturing, and beyond.”
Hassan also clarified how success is measured. “For us, success is not measured by footfall alone. It is measured by the investments secured, the policies shaped, and the startups that scale internationally because of the connections made at our events.”
The power of strategic partnerships
Strategic partnerships are central to the event’s growth. “Strategic partnerships are fundamental for shows aligned with national agendas and this is why Ai Everything MEA Egypt is built in close collaboration with Egypt’s key industry stakeholders, along with global tech and business ecosystems,” Hassan further explained.
He spoke to the event’s hosts and presentation. “The show is presented by GITEX, the world’s largest tech and AI events network, and hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).”
“It is the first all-AI summit and showcase held under the auspices of President H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; indicating a strong show of confidence in Egypt’s AI ambitions and the role Ai Everything MEA Egypt plays in attracting international interest into the country,” he said.
Hassan added that partnerships extend on a global scale. “Beyond national partnerships, we leverage GITEX’s 45-year global relationships with government entities, technology leaders, investors, corporate venture capital, trade councils, and industry associations to enable cross-border trade and long-term cooperation.”
“Every partnership within Ai Everything MEA Egypt is purposefully selected to advance Egypt’s positioning in specific, high-impact sectors. The platform is deliberately structured to reinforce Egypt’s role across semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, AI services, data centres, fintech, smart cities, and public-sector modernization – sectors that directly underpin the country’s long-term digital and industrial ambitions.”
Egypt as a unique AI meeting point
Hassan pointed to Egypt’s strategic advantages holding this summit. “Egypt has the fundamentals to lead this role: strong market momentum, a forward-looking government, bold national AI strategies, and leadership in Arabic-first AI models. Our role is to amplify that momentum and position Egypt as a place where AI is built, deployed, and scaled for Africa and the Middle East.”
He cited the North African country’s rankings and national strategy. “Egypt ranks #1 in Africa for Government AI Readiness and #3 in the Arab region for AI resilience (Oxford Insights Index), while its Second National AI Strategy (2025-2030) has laid down a clear roadmap for scaling AI adoption, talent development, and sovereign AI – targeting $42.7 billion in annual AI value by 2030.”
Egypt’s talent pool, is another strong asset. “Moreover, Egypt has a young digitally fluent population and one of the region’s strongest pipelines of engineering and developer talent, making it a strong contender to become a leading builder and exporter of AI capabilities across Africa and the Middle East.”
Connecting emerging economies
Ai Everything MEA Egypt also aims to foster inclusion beyond traditional tech centers.
“Our approach is built on equitable access. By bringing together communities from both advanced and emerging economies, Ai Everything MEA Egypt enables shared progress rather than competition. Capital flows more freely, AI ideas scale faster and human capital develops stronger,” Hassan said.
He pointed to the economic opportunity. “With AI projected to contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030, platforms like this are essential to unlocking that potential – by creating fairer, more connected technology corridors that allow growth to happen where it is needed most.”
The future of AI events
Looking ahead, Hassan sees large-scale AI events evolving beyond traditional trade shows into “critical infrastructure for the global digital economy.”
He argues that they go beyond merely just marketplaces, but integrated platforms where ecosystems “connect, policies align, and industries move forward together.”
He concluded with the event’s vision. “With Ai Everything, our role is to set the right platform for digital diplomacy and economic collaboration – together, driving a shared mission of more meaningful AI innovations, faster deployment, and purposeful progress for Africa and the Middle East.”
