From 1988 to 1991, the UNDP worked with the AFESD and governments of various Arab countries to formalize the creation of three regional software centers located in Cairo, Kuwait, and Morocco. Multilateral organizations recognized the attractive opportunity that the software industry posed for developing countries. Among the many other comparative advantages, software industries in the Arab countries have the availability of a large pool of qualified manpower; a sizable local market, especially for Arabized and bilingual software; the opportunities presented by bilingual software systems that can be exported directly to neighboring Islamic countries; the fact that bilingual systems can be easily modified to parent languages, such as Urdu, Persian, Afghan and others; and, finally, the proximity to Europe and the trade links between countries in Europe and the Arab region.

On January 14-16, 1992, 150 leading software professionals, executives from private industry, top academicians from leading universities, government ministers and decision makers from virtually every country in the region attended a seminar in Cairo to launch the first of these centers. The objective of the seminar was to introduce the activities, services, and products of the Center to IT professionals and government officials in the region and to solicit information from the representatives to determine the policies, priorities, strategies, and programs that could help accelerate the development of a thriving regional software industry.

The seminar was inaugurated by the UNDP's assistant administrator and director of the regional bureau for Arab States and Europe Dr. Ali Attiga, the AFESD's general director Dr. Abdel Latif Al Hamad, and Egypt's minister of cabinet affairs and minister of state for administrative affairs Dr. Atef Ebeid. In their opening speeches, they emphasized the importance of the development of the software industry in the region and the role it can play in accelerating the region's socioeconomic development. "Countries without a viable software industry are at a great disadvantage in developing their economies," stated Attiga. El Hamad added that "the impact of the use of information technology and software engineering has been internationally recognized as a main strategic tool for socio-economic development of nations." They explicitly stated the commitment of their organizations and governments to supporting the regional activities in the software industry and their hopes for RITSEC's success. Ebeid related his belief that "the existence of the Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Center indicates the recognition of the vital role of information technology in regional development."

Presentations, roundtable discussions, working lunches, and impromptu dinner discussions followed the opening speeches. Edward Yourdon and Tom DeMarco, leading experts in the U.S. software industry, were the keynote speakers. Both speakers and session participants emphasized that knowledge and intellectual capital are the new sustainable wealth of nations and the key to a healthy and growing software industry. Yourdon told participants that he was intrigued by the idea of a regional incubator for an Arab IT industry, saying that "most technology transfer projects involve only a single company; indeed, many involve only a single technology, like CASE. More ambitious endeavors may involve a consortium of companies…Very few are organized at the national level…Even rarer is an effort at the regional level, involving multiple countries."

Topics covered during the seminar's sessions and roundtable meetings included

• The state of the art in the software industry at international and regional levels;
• Computer-based tools for software development;
• Human resource development in software engineering;
• Methodological foundations and the technological infrastructure for software engineering;
• Regional priorities in the software engineering industry;
• National policies and development of software production in countries in the region: successful cases from Arab countries; and
• Steps in a regional program to build the technological infrastructure for IT and software production in the region.

Participants suggested that RITSEC include among its objectives enhancing the capacity for local development of software, stimulating more business-directed software ventures, increasing collaboration among existing Arab software organizations, creating Arabic software standards, and building a cadre of skills for software development in the region. One participant pointed out that RITSEC could play a valuable role simply by tracking technology developments and trends in the software industry and acting as a focal point for information dissemination in the region.

Dr. Hisham El-Sherif, RITSEC's chairman, affirmed that RITSEC is not to be a software house; its mission is to "energize" the development of the region's software industry. "As oil was in the 1970s, software will be the key to fueling economic growth in the 1990s." He added that RITSEC was intending to emphasize four product-oriented areas: government applications, business applications, "cultureware', and software applications involving environmental issues. Participants proposed additional software applications, such as computer-aided instruction products, Arabization, software tools to aid researchers, software for supporting engineers, and pharmaceutical applications.

El-Sherif added, "We were glad to found RITSEC in 1992 after careful and extensive research of the region's human resource skills. It was evident that Egypt had the human capital and capabilities to establish such an organization but what's more important was the strong, uncompromising endorsement we received from the office of H.E. Dr. Atef Ebeid…RITSEC's core objectives and principles were being encouraged by the Egyptian government. IDSC represents another pillar for RITSEC, providing unyielding, second-to-non experience in the IT industry in terms of human resources, skills, experience, and a solid track record in IT services planning and development."