Egypt’s capital hosted the first edition of the Cairo-Dubai Real Estate Conference, organized by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) on October 17, under the theme “Planning and Designing Smart Urban City Strategies,” Invest-Gate reports.

“The aim of the conference was to exchange real estate knowledge and transfer Dubai’s experience to Egypt, in addition to providing an investment environment based on smart services to create an innovative and sustainable global real estate environment,” read the official statement.

Jointly arranged by the Council of Arab Businesswomen, the Real Estate Development Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), Building Materials Chamber of FEI, and 6th of October Investors Association, the one-day event marks the first step in activating the cooperation between DLD and the Council of Arab Businesswomen in Egypt.

All speakers emphasized the favorable perceptions that can be attained by adopting the smart cities’ concepts and technologies, while comprehending its positive outcomes for the future of real estate development and construction business.

During her keynote speech, CEO of the Promotion and Real Estate Investment Management Sector at DLD Majida Ali Rashid noted, “This conference was a stepping stone to further areas of future collaboration, as well as an opportunity to provide additional services that benefit real estate sectors in Dubai and Egypt, and foster collaborative relationships to exchange experiences and organize more courses and meetings in the future.”

Commenting on Egypt’s progress in applying such a model, Assistant Housing Minister for the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) Waleed Abbas underlined that the government targets new cities in its wider development plan, where a total of 30 cities have been studied, 14 of which are underway, providing complete technical services through smart cities.

Further, the debate on opportunities to improve real estate investment has arisen during the event, alongside the joint initiatives between the two countries as well as the future of Egyptian-Emirati cooperation, whereby both parties announced plans for several signings in the near future.

“The first [memorandum of understanding] aims to enhance the role of women and encourage real estate investment in line with the importance of women’s role in Dubai and Egypt through women communities, especially in the fields of real estate investment and promotion among others,” the statement concluded.