Media Roundtable Remarks
Good afternoon.
I’ve recently returned from an 8-country trip to Europe. All beautiful places. But yesterday I had an opportunity to visit the pyramids at Giza and they took my breath away. I had to FaceTime my 8-year-old twins and show them one of the great Wonders of the World. They were amazed, and although I have been there many times, I was amazed as well. It never gets old. I told them next time I’ll bring them back, so we can see them together.
Egypt is a country with a rich past and a bright future. Egypt’s impressive economic growth and focus on innovation has created a business-friendly climate.
America has invested in Egypt for decades—in your security, your economy, and the well-being of the Egyptian people. USAID has provided over $30B in the last couple of decades. This doesn’t include other financing and development arms or the private sector.
The United States helped cure Polio here in Egypt, bring drinking water and electricity to millions of Egyptians, and even preserved your national treasures from damage, like the Sphinx that I visited yesterday.
In fact, over the last 3 years, the U.S.-Egyptian trade grew by more than 75 percent. That’s why I’m here—to elevate our strategic partnership to an even higher level. Especially in the sectors of the future, where so much innovation is taking place, and where so many private sector businesses are looking to invest.
There’s now a big opportunity for Egyptian businesses to take advantage of the global trend to diversify supply chains and manufacturing out of China. Egypt is at a timely inflection point, and is well postured to attract that investment here.
Key to that is having a trusted network when you roll out 5G with trusted 5G providers. It will touch everything in our lives, from phones to cars to refrigerators to space ships.
The possibilities are endless, and so are the opportunities for the Egyptian people—especially young people. That’s why it’s so important to get it right.
The United States and more than 40 countries and 60 telecommunications companies and tech giants like Oracle, Cisco, HP, Verizon, Telefonica, Futjitsu, and so many others, are getting 5G right by joining the Clean Network.
Briefly, the Clean Network is a coalition of like-minded countries and companies committed to securing their most sensitive information from malign actors—like the Chinese Communist Party—based on internationally-accepted digital trust standards.
The Clean Network is how the most advanced economies in the world are choosing to handle the next generation of communications technologies. Just in time for the next generation of Egyptians.
The Clean Network fits well with the Egyptian government’s vision of a vibrant, forward-looking nation that’s a leader in the region. The Egypt of tomorrow should be built on trusted 5G infrastructure. The Egypt of today can start by joining the Clean Network.
I’d be happy to take your questions.
