There is no doubt that the Suez Canal is one of the most important sea lanes in the world.
around 30 percent The total global container trade passes through the canal, while each year more than $1 trillion worth of goods pass through the narrow waterway linking Asia and Europe.
For Egypt, the canal provides a vital source of foreign currency. According to Suez Canal Authority (SCA), the waterway generated $40 billion in revenue from 2019 to 2024.
For the fiscal year 2025/2026, Securities and Commodities Authority Recently announced Revenues rose 23% compared to the previous year, despite significant regional disruption.
However, the Suez Canal is not just a sea passage. He is also a Vital choke point International communications, connecting multiple continents via a busy highway with undersea communications cables.
It is these cables that provide Egypt with an invaluable opportunity to enhance global communications while at the same time expanding its economy. This network of submarine cables, buried beneath the world’s oceans, connects every continent except Antarctica, enabling individuals, businesses and governments to communicate with each other.
These cables are vital. According to the United Nations International Telecommunication UnionAs the foundation of the global Internet, these cables account for 99 percent of global Internet traffic, including countless financial transactions.
In Egypt alone Six of these cables It extends along the Suez Canal, linking Africa, Europe and Asia. One of these cities, IMEWE (India, Middle East and Western Europe), extends over 12,091 kilometres, connecting a range of different countries from Mumbai to Marseille.
Enhancing global communications is nothing new for the Suez Canal. In 1870, just one year after the passage was opened, the British-run Submarine Telegraph Company laid the route The first telegraph cable Under the waterway. This cable connected Suez to Mumbai, which was then a major center in the British colonial trade network.
Currently, Egypt’s submarine cables are controlled by Telecom Egypt (TE). Currently, TE is operating 14 marine communications cables– Supervising the planning, construction and maintenance of existing and new projects in Egypt.
Demand for new projects is abundant. In 2022, TE signed a contract deal With the Irish company Medusa Submarine Cable System, to extend the existing Medusa cable to Egypt by 2026, connecting Egypt to several Mediterranean cities.
TE is also involved in developing Cable Africa-1It is planned to connect Africa, the Middle East and Europe, extending over a distance of more than 10,000 km.
For Egypt, these submarine cables represent an exciting opportunity. According to Center for Strategic and International StudiesEgypt’s ICT sector has been the fastest growing sector in the country for six consecutive years. The sector also benefited from the rise in foreign investment. Egypt attracted US$46.1 billion in foreign direct investment during the 2023/24 fiscal year, providing additional capital for digital infrastructure and technology projects.
Under the government Digital Egypt strategyEgypt has enhanced its digital and communications growth. Part of Egypt Vision 2030The strategy promotes national talent development and investment incentives, including the use of special economic zones.
In conjunction with the rapid growth of Egypt’s ICT sector, further development of the country’s existing submarine cable network could significantly accelerate economic growth.
As countries around the world scramble to produce and develop new artificial intelligence systems, the importance of the global communications cable network is increasing It grows quickly.
In the Middle East alone, the development of artificial intelligence has become an increasingly important component of governments’ economic strategies. In the Gulf region, artificial intelligence represents an opportunity for governments to diversify their traditional dependence on oil.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund was established in 2025 More than a billion dollars In its AI system, HUMAIN. G42, a Dubai-based artificial intelligence company, recently Raised millions of dollars of investors, and is actively investing in other AI companies around the world.
Relying on the rapid transfer of information, these artificial intelligence systems rely on the rapid movement of massive amounts of data, making Egypt’s position as a bridge between Europe, Africa and Asia increasingly valuable. Accordingly, Gulf countries invest in Egypt.
It is managed by the Saudi Telecom Company Mobily, Egypt and Saudi Arabia Agreed In 2022 to build a new cable linking the two countries, which will enhance Egypt’s income from foreign direct investment.
However, growth opportunities extend beyond the Middle East. Some of the world’s largest technology companies have invested in Egypt’s submarine cable infrastructure, Companies Such as Google, Meta, and Amazon.
Investors are not exclusively American. Other international companies such as Indian Tata Communications And Chinese companies Huawei and China Mobile International It also financed the submarine cable network in Egypt.
Throughout its history, Egypt has connected continents, cultures and civilizations. Modern technological advances in this century have not changed this, but rather changed the ways in which Egypt interacts with the world.
However, Egypt integrates Europe and the Arab world, the Arab world and Africa, and Africa and Europe. Now undersea communications cables are enabling this fusion, bringing the worlds around Egypt together.
As in the past, these links provide a wealth of opportunities. As artificial intelligence rises to the level of necessity around the world, Egypt remains in a great position to facilitate this rise and grow the Egyptian economy.