Egypt Named Offshoring Destination of the Year at the Inaugural European Outsourcing Association Awards

BRUSSELS, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Egypt was awarded the prestigious title of Offshoring Destination of the Year at the 2010 European Outsourcing Association Awards held in Brussels last night, beating rivals Philippines, Colombia and Sri Lanka to the accolade.

Dr. Hazem Abdelazim, CEO of Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) received the award on behalf of Egypt during a glittering ceremony held at the Chateau Du Lac, Brussels.

More than 100 high-level executives and outsourcing professionals attended this inaugural ceremony, hosted by the European Outsourcing Association (EOA).

Commenting on this achievement, H.E. Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology said: "This award recognizes the outstanding progress Egypt has made in the last year as a global outsourcing destination. The country's credibility is going from strength to strength amongst European companies and has put its mark on the map of favored global services locations. We recognize the increasing role that Egypt can play in the fast-paced global ICT industry and we are advancing steadily on the way to position the country as a hub for IT innovation and entrepreneurship."

The awards recognize the success of organizations in outsourcing projects and raise awareness of the importance of best practice in outsourcing.

Commenting on Egypt's success at the awards, Martyn Hart, EOA Chairman said: "Egypt stood out for its multilingual capabilities and developments made to its infrastructure. It has proven itself to be both a strong player for European outsourcers and a gateway to the Middle East and Africa."

Through the support of ITIDA and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), Egypt has shown ongoing improvement in the ICT sector.

The results of these developments have been reflected through numerous reports, with Egypt most recently being ranked sixth most attractive offshoring destination worldwide and number one in EMEA according to the A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index™.

The growing list of multinationals investing and expanding operations in Egypt, including Stream Global Services, Vodafone, EMC, Teleperformance, IBM, Microsoft, SQS, Oracle and Valeo, is further testament to the country's unwavering efforts to establish itself as the outsourcing destination of choice across Europe and beyond.

Notes to editors:

The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is a governmental entity affiliated to Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

It is responsible for growing and developing Egypt's position as a leading global outsourcing location by attracting foreign direct investment to the industry and maximizing the exports of IT services and applications.

Located in the heart of the modern business environment at Smart Village, the six hundred acre business park on the outskirts of Cairo, ITIDA is a self sustainable entity that drives the IT industry in Egypt and raises awareness among the Egyptian people of the benefits and use of ICT to advance socio-economic welfare of the whole community.

SOURCE Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA)