CAIRO — The Egyptian government signed a US$10 million deal with Google that it anticipates will boost trade and generate jobs. Officials said the deal will also advance the country’s information technology sector.

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Tareq Kamel recently returned from a visit to the U.S. where he held meetings aimed at broadening the scope of Egyptian-American cooperation in the information technology sector.

Kamel revealed that Egypt is seeking to collaborate with Google to create an advertising base for Egyptian products and services. Google will invest 25 percent of the proceeds from the agreement in the Egyptian economy.

The Egyptian information technology sector has experienced stellar growth, and observers expect online sales to grow from $1.2 billion in 2008 to $1.9 billion in 2013, even during the current international economic crisis. Growth will be led both by the youth market and more traditional industries.

Egypt has become one of the world’s largest investment support centres. According to a study at the London School of Economics, Egypt topped a list of emerging discounted investment support centres throughout the world, thanks to its skilled and cost effective workforce.

Local direct investment has also witnessed growth in recent months, spearheaded by the many ways in which Google’s services have promoted development within Egyptian industry. Google is currently seeking to expand its activity in the Middle East. To this end, it has committed to helping local companies upgrade and use technology to boost the local economy.

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