Egypts Minister of Planning, Follow-up and Administrative Reform Hala al-Saeed said the fourth edition of the government portal will be launched in December of 2018 to activate the use of electric payment cards. The move comes as part of the ministrys plan to activate electronic payment of government services through the Egyptian government portal, the minister said during the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between the Researches and Economic Studies Centre at Cairo Universitys Faculty of Economics and Political Science and the Arab Economic Unity Council in the domain of digital transition. The world is now witnessing rapid changes in the information technology domain with the emergence of a new economy known as digital economy, she said. But the digital economy in Arab countries face many challenges, especially weak infrastructure, lack of confidence in electronic dealings and the high cost of internet, she added. Saeed said the agreement aims at promoting awareness of digital economy and holding workshops to develop bills aiming at activating the digital economy mechanism. The minister showcased the development of the ministry’s work in the digital transformation field, within the Egyptian state plan towards digital transformation and Egypt Vision 2030, especially the fourth axis which is the efficiency and transparency of the government institutions. She added that the ministry has put a comprehensive conception of the public services map in cooperation with other government authorities on top of them: Administrative Control Authority and National Council for Payments.