The Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Center (RITSEC), was established in January 1992, as a joint project between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD); and is hosted by the Government of Egypt-the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC). Located in Cairo, and created as a regional, non-profit organization, RITSEC provides technical, professional and developmental services to the agencies, institutions and governmental organizations in the Arab Region.

"To support and help development of the Information Technology and Software Industry in the Arab Region in order to become a World-Class industry capable of competing at international levels; and to serve as a catalyst for accelerating socio-economic development, within the Region."

• To contribute and empower the development and utilization of knowledge through the provision of education and professional development using traditional and distance learning approaches
• To help build software engineering capacities, use and development of IT tools, products and services
• To lead regional and global cultural heritage preservation using information technology tools and techniques
• To contribute to the development of new initiatives in high priority areas such as e-commerce, distance education and Intellectual Property Rights through awareness, professional development and pilot projects