Egypt launches e-visas at Cairo ICT: The Sisi administration officially launched electronic visa services at the Cairo ICT Expo on Sunday, Ahram Online reports. Visa applicants from 41 countries, including the US, Canada, France and the UK, will be able to apply for travel authorization online and will receive a visa electronically. Foreigners can apply through the system at https://www.egyptvisa.com/.

Does this mean the end of visas on arrival? It’s not clear. The official visa site (above) is particularly vague on this point, noting that places that you “can apply for an Egypt eVisa” and then elsewhere explaining that you “must.” It specifically mentions short-duration visas on arrival at ports of entry including “Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba.” The site also notes that the eVisa has been mandatory since May 2017, when industry pushback is believed to have been a factor in the delayed rollout of the system. Tourism industry players believe the e-visa will be less attractive to tourists than the current visa-on-arrival system.

Also at Cairo ICT: ICT Minister Yasser El Kady announced that the government is also working on a national strategy for e-commerce, according to Egypt Today. The strategy would be developed in cooperation with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), El Kady added without revealing too many details.

President El Sisi inaugurated new technological zones in Beni Suef, Menoufiya and Assiut, the first in a number of tech zones slated for development in the coming few years. Egypt will also sign an agreement with the UN to co-establish a regional technological innovation center that would focus in its first stages on devising solutions for challenges facing sectors such as health, education, industry, and agriculture, El Sisi also said.

The local press also can’t seem to get enough of “the first locally assembled smartphone,” the Nile X, which is being manufactured by SICO Technology. 45% of the components of the phone were sourced in Egypt, said El Kady, which probably means the phone is 40% cover.