Amr Shawki Chairman
One year has elapsed since we last gathered here for CARDEX 2006. I am happy to welcome back old faces and join my colleagues in welcoming new comers to this event, in particular speakers who represent a wide spectrum of international technology providers and end users.
I am also happy to greet our special guests and delegates from the Arab region - which I am proud to note- has become a major growth engine for this industry and its numerous applications.
The event's twofold growth and unprecedented demand for participation in the conference attest to the robustness of this industry within the region. Our conference this year will continue to present and debate the latest in card technology with a focus on border control and biometrics, e-government, RF-ID, E-passport and national IDs, E-Banking, various smart card applications in addition to IT security.
Since its launching in 2003, CARDEX has assumed a focal responsibility for promoting and raising awareness of the smart card industry in the Middle East and Africa . Aware of the need and demands of this growing market, CARDEX was quick to secure its position as the forum and point of convergence to serve this industry in the region. Besides contributing to agenda setting for this industry, CARDEX has played a significant role in raising key strategic issues including institutional building, training and education, regional cooperation, and standards setting to mention but a few.
Networking and exchange remain the hallmark of CARDEX today and its emphasis in future years. In this respect, I am pleased to note the level of current cooperation between various government and non-government entities and call for further collaboration in the areas of research, development, certification and training.
With the inauguration of this year's event, I am keen to share with you two of my aspirations which come as a natural progression from the growth of CARDEX:
The first aspiration is the creation of a regional alliance under the umbrella of CARDEX whose purpose would be to exchange knowledge and know-how, experiences, share best practices and case studies, undertake training and certifications as well as set common standards and codes for our region. This independent alliance would comprise of active members from governments, industry and end-users.
The second aspiration concerns exporting CARDEX to the region on a bi-annual basis so that it is organized in Cairo and another Arab or African country on an alternate basis. This would only be possible through the support of the concerned ministries from Egypt and the host country with a keen interest in spreading information technology. This would benefit the region through further outreach, broadening the scope of dialogue, and increased regional cooperation.
Over the next two days, I look forward to sharing views with you on ways to set in motion these two aspirations. I am keen to form a (think-tank or an advisory board) with members from the region to further brainstorm on these two aspirations ... [closing]
Amr Shawki - Cardex chairman
