He told ITNewsAfrica.com that “Vietnam and Egypt are very similar in our outlook for the IT sector and the future so it makes logical sense that we would work together to build the infrastructure in both countries”.

He did not elaborate on how cooperation between the two countries would develop after his visit ends, but appeared optimistic that the IT links between Asia and Egypt would remain “strong”.

During the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, which began on September 2, the two countries were on an information gathering mission that included meetings with the Egyptian ministry of information and communications, the department of industry and a number of Information Communication Technology (ICT) centres and businesses in Egypt.

The two countries are looking at means of exchanging information and developing and applying it to the trade, education and health care sectors.

The Vietnamese delegation visited Egypt’s Smart Village, which is often seen as a symbol of Egypt’s modern IT network.

Currently, a large number of international IT groups and major businesses, which include US giant Microsoft, are investing in Egypt’s IT sector which uses the Smart Village as its Xbox support centre worldwide.