CAIRO - Following on the agreement signed
between the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) and the Egyptian
Academy for Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) responsible for the
Egyptian National Scientific & Technical Information Network (ENSTINET),
and as concrete step, ASRT hosted ASREN’s 12th Annual Conference e-AGE22, which
was conducted very successfully in Cairo 13-14 December 2022.

The conference was well attended by
high-level representation from the Arab region, Europe and the rest of the
world with 50 speakers from 40 countries who discussed issues on science
cooperation ,research and education infrastructures and more.

The partnership with ASRT will include
cooperation in various dimensions related to scientific research and education,
with particular focus on infrastructures, open science and capacity building.

ASRT is now the official beneficiary
partner in Egypt for the European Union’s co-funded projects AfricaConnect3 and
Medusa, which are delivered locally by ASREN, to provide high-capacity
international internet connectivity for academic and scientific collaborations
and to connect the research and education communities in Egypt with the
pan-European GÉANT network and the rest of the world.

Studies and plans are also underway to
establish a regional open exchange point in Egypt, which will be hosted and
operated by the Academy, to serve as a connectivity hub for the Arab NRENs, and
among the many other world research and education networks accross the
Mediterranean Sea.

The Academy will additionally encourage
Open Science, Open Access and LIBSENSE activities in Egypt and the region,
through its experience in serving as a host and an operator of the Egyptian
Knowledge Bank project initiative, the largest digital library in the world.

In welcoming this important step Dr. Talal
Abu-Ghazleh, Chairman of ASREN said: “ASREN is pleased to formally welcome ASRT
as a project partner. Serving as Egypt’s national house of expertise in the
field of Science, Technology and Innovation ASRT is a partner of choice for
ASREN in its quest to benefit the R&E communities in Egypt and to support
the Arab region as a whole especially in infrastructures and science
cooperation.”