Political class is not always a flattering term. Actually, undercurrents of personal animosity and/or political criticism are endemic when discussions turn to the political class—in any country. In Lebanon, the most frequent connotations of the term appear to be wasta and corruption. Hailing from a political family is in this sense a definite reputational burden in the court of public opinion.

However, in reality there are as many nuances on political positions and achievements as there are political individuals in Lebanon, and the task of legislating a framework for the country’s digital transformation is much more important than bickering over ideology. As a significant stepping stone toward the digital future, Law 81 was adopted by Parliament last year and went into effect on January 19. Executive sat down to interview MP Nadim Gemayel, the head of the Parliament’s information technology committee and lead sponsor of Law 81.   

E   Do you already have a sightline on how Law 81 is impacting the Lebanese economy and being adjusted to by enterprises?

Until now, we have not had any feedback about the application of Law 81, since it entered into force on January 19. After 10 days, we still have no feedback from enterprises. But I am sure that over the next six months [the law] will provide an easier way to do business in the country, especially for e-commerce enterprises and for e-banking. We are also contemplating an enhancement [of the law] with regards to dealing via emails and electronic transactions, especially concerning processes that used to be paper-based in terms of C2G [consumer to government] transactions and payments. This relates specifically to the realms of government to consumer and government to business interactions, or G2C and B2G, in areas such as payments at the ports and all kinds of e-payments. We are contemplating this, together with many companies, in order to provide them with the best environment, even though we do not have e-government yet.

E   Does this plan for new legislation interlace with projects under the CEDRE framework and initiatives coordinated with World Bank-related projects, such as the streamlining of customs procedures?

Exactly. It all goes together. It is not only about CEDRE, but about creating a real, modern country that has [digital] procedures and regulations that extend all the way.

E   So what are the most important points in Law 81 from your perspective, as its sponsor in producing it in Parliament?

Law 81 has three main aspects. The first is the civil law aspect, the second is the penal or criminal law aspect, and the third is organizational. The most important one is the aspect on civil law. This aspect includes four chapters. The first chapter includes the e-signature, all sorts of e-transactions, and electronic writing. Then there is the e-commerce chapter, an e-banking chapter, and the data protection chapter. These are the four main chapters [under the civil law aspect]. Then you have the criminal law aspect that covers all kinds of electronic crimes and cybercrimes, hacking, etc. All this is being covered under the penal aspect. The third aspect or section is the organizational one that provides [measures for the organization of] .lb and on how to manage internet service providers and data service providers.

E   So, under the penal section of Law 81, cybercrimes and their penalties are clearly defined?

Yes, there are penalties for hacking, for intrusion into [IT] systems, for pornography and child abuse over the net. There is a set of [legal sanctions] for e-crimes.

E   Is there also a provision in the law’s penal section that deals with online harassment or bullying over the internet?

No, harassment is not included. It is still very general. The section has a set of articles that address a small part of the e-crimes but does not go into [all forms of] abuse, social media, or freedom of speech.

E  This sounds as if victims of online trolling in Lebanon might, for the time being, still have to resort to the existing judicial means when seeking protection. As concerns the organizational section of the law, you say that the .lb issuance is included?

On the organizational [segment] we have two chapters, one that is related to regulating the .lb—I personally have many reservations about this chapter because it is very badly done, and it was changed at the last minute in Parliament. It is not applicable, and we are attempting to change it again.

E   What is the weakness of this chapter?

[By changing the text of Law 81, members of Parliament] created an entity to manage .lb that by law cannot be created; there is a contradiction in the chapter. There is another chapter in the organizational section of Law 81 that talks about all kinds of [Internet Service Providers and Data Service Providers] and all kinds of servers.

E   You mentioned in a speech at a cybersecurity conference on January 31 that the law is a step toward something comparable to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR?

Right. This is the part that is related to data protection. This is in the fourth chapter of Law 81’s segment relating to the civil aspect. We have a foot in the water in terms of data protection but it is not yet complete data protection, similar to GDPR.

E   So it is not yet in the organizational segment?

There is a small [data protection aspect] in the organizational section, on how companies are to do business, and how [they are] to be regulated by the ministries.

E   What is your perception regarding the readiness of Lebanese companies that do business online with European customers?

Any company that wants to deal with European citizens, or do business in Europe, has to comply with GDPR. This is much stronger than our data protection regulation, but the companies in Lebanon will still have to adapt to Law 81.

E   Is there enough awareness and training in Lebanon on how to comply with GDPR, noting that European countries have recently appeared to enforce the regulation with larger fines?

It is not enough. Probably only banks are aware of all the procedures related to GDPR. But in the overall Lebanese market there is no awareness at all, and especially there is no awareness in the ministries that have to apply the data protection. That is why I requested a meeting on data protection last week with the ministries on how to implement the data protection. There was a sort of mess in this regard.

E   What sort of mess is this? Is it concerning all ministries? 

We have four ministries that are related to data protection. We are trying to coordinate the [issuance] of decrees that these ministries have to release. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of [Public] Health, the Ministry of Economy [and Trade], and the Ministry of Interior [and Municipalities] will all have to coordinate in order to have a competent structure [for data protection].

E   How do you perceive the establishment of a new ministerial role, namely the Office of the Minister of State for Information Technology and Investment, in this context of need for coordination on digital policies and processes?

I heard very good things about this minister as being very competent and trustworthy. [Ed: a first meeting between MP Gemayel and Minister Afiouni was arranged after Executive conducted this interview.] I hope that we will be able to cooperate with the new minister for [information technology], in order to organize this sector and move it forward to achieve better expansion.

E   How is the situation, or need, in terms of implementation decrees for Law 81?

Some issues need regulation by the ministers, and some issues need government decrees. This should all be set [soon]. Law 81 needs about 10 decrees, and we are pushing the ministers. These decrees should have been implemented [in January 2019], but since there was no government [at the time when Law 81 went into effect], we are giving them a few weeks to organize themselves to start decreeing what needs to be decreed.

E   You serve as head of Parliament’s IT committee. How do you see the digital awareness of fellow members of Parliament?

The awareness is very good. This is a domain that is very young, dynamic, efficient, and that is evolving very quickly. Of course there are some colleagues among deputies who are more aware than others, but each is [aware] about a sector. Even I have been thrown into dealing with this sector, and did not know all details about it, but I decided to take this into my hands. We are also making efforts to improve our knowledge of all relevant issues. For example, we are organizing a trip for all parliamentarians in the [IT] committee to Estonia, which is the number one state for e-government, cybersecurity, etc. We will be going there to discover this horizon and take the necessary training to know what to expect.

E   A fact finding tour?

Exactly, a tour to study, have e-government meetings, regulatory meetings and all this. [Ed: the tour had been conducted by the time of publication.]

E   Without resorting to external ratings of Lebanon’s digital readiness by think tanks and organizations such as the World Economic Forum, how do you personally rate Lebanon for digital and cybersecurity development when comparing it to peers in the Middle East?

Without having other criteria, from a legal point of view I think we are very late. [Law 81] was the first time that a law concerning IT and e-transactions was voted into existence. It has been a first step, but other countries are very advanced in this. I also believe that we need to do a lot in the ecosystem, from education to evolving job descriptions for people to know from the beginning that we need different jobs from the traditional ones. We also need to reach new markets, find new horizons, and new ways to integrate the values of Lebanon into companies within this [digital environment]. We are late.

E  Two years ago, Executive published an analysis by a legal expert on digital legal frameworks in the region, and it indeed showed that Lebanon was behind the regional curve in legislation and adoption of policies for digital transformation as well as in cybersecurity issues.

It is far behind, but I can add one comment: Lebanon has always been known for private initiatives and personal initiatives in adopting new technologies, evolving new sectors, etc. I believe that this time, the state needs to be following the private sector. We [in the state] must not be afraid to say that we are following the private sector. The private sector should be the pioneer and lead us. We are there to support them.

E   In this context, it appeared from recent conferences on the digital ecosystem and cybersecurity, such as a Cybersecurity Day at the American University of Beirut, that Lebanese students are extremely eager to learn more skills in areas such as cybersecurity. Do you agree?

Of course. Cybersecurity is the future, not only for the state, but also for your personal digital identity.

E   Do you recommend any specific steps that the state should take under the concept of following the private sector in the areas of digital innovation and cybersecurity? Should the state, for example, devise new curricula for tertiary education on cybersecurity?

No, but I believe that much should be done to make people from a very young age learn how to think differently and orient themselves in this area. It is also very important to create jobs in this area. Awareness is very important. Digital is part of our daily life. It’s like learning how to drive a car—understand your limits. In a similar way, you need to learn how to use the [digital] technology around you. You have to know the limits that you have in this technology and how to protect yourself.

E   Should the state take a leading role in education for digital, or should this digital transformation be driven by private education providers?

Both have a role to play. The ministries and the government have to play a role, and the whole public sector has to play a role, but it is complementary. It is similar to how creating awareness of child abuse problems is part public and part private responsibility—it is part of schools, cultural clubs, families. It is about everybody.

E   For the interaction with the government today, are there special contact points at Parliament for the private sector, where companies can relate to the IT committee?

Of course, I am open to everybody, and I’m talking with all the sectors. Our committee engages on education, with the Ministry of Telecoms, with IT companies, with the clusters, with everybody. We are trying to talk to everybody and be part of [answering] their needs and requirements.

E   How are you dealing with specific situations involving state contracts and work on issues such digitization of the cadaster?

We have yet to start on this issue, which goes into the development of e-government. This issue requires many strategic decisions, for example, who will own the data and what will be the [ID] number that you use to identify yourself? Will it be a number [given to citizens] by the interior ministry, the finance ministry, or any other ministry? We need to define this [ownership of data] first, and this has been a big debate; the ministries still do not accept to share their data among each other. If you do not organize this today, especially between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Interior [and Municipalities], you will not be able to go forward.

This is because you need the personal, individual [data]—name, family name, and date of birth—as well as the financial information, and the data from the Ministry of Justice, which owns the cadaster. It is a management of three [ministerial stakeholders], of whom each considers themselves to own the data and wants to preserve it [at their ministry] without sharing it with anybody. This is problematic. It is where we are today, but I think that we shall be able to find a solution very soon. Also, let me tell you about another innovation that we [in the IT committee] are working on: I am proposing a law on companies in technology that will be favorable for entrepreneurship and startup companies in the digital ecosystem. This law aims to provide simplified [processes] and quick registration, where we will waive many [requirements] for young companies in order for entrepreneurs to be able to start new tech companies and take them forward very quickly.

E   Would this also involve smoothing of access for young tech companies to the Electronic Trading Platform, or ETP, once this entity is established?

The issue is completely different. [The new legal proposal] is for companies that seek to be incorporated in an easy and light process. That is what we are doing. If these companies later want to join the ETP or evolve onto the Beirut Stock Exchange or somewhere else, they are free to do what they want, but [this law will be there to help them] if they are young startups and want to go forward.

E   It has been a request from participants in the entrepreneurship and tech startup ecosystem to have simpler incorporation requirements for startups. Is your new law proposal addressing this issue then?

Exactly. This [sort of complex requirement] is what we are going to waive. We are helping the [startups]  do things. We know very well that perhaps two of 10 startups will fly. For the rest, we are facilitating the bankruptcy or shutdown, and in case that they are flying alone, we will facilitate their registration so that they can get integrated into the ecosystem. I hope that this law that we are preparing will help a lot in this way. It is a new law that I have not proposed yet, but plan to launch in the near future. It is being drafted.

E  May I ask how you personally first became involved with the issue of digital empowerment, and what made you aspire to become the chair of the IT committee in the current Parliament?

I have always been interested in IT and technology issues and digital identity. In the last Parliament, I was a member of this committee that, at that time, was chaired by my colleague, [Tripoli MP] Samer Saadeh. So when Samer lost the election [last May], I proposed to become the chairman of the IT committee. I nominated myself because I believe this sector is the future, where a lot needs to be done, and where I have a lot to give.

E   When you gave a speech on Law 81 and your perspectives on the challenges for politicians in the digital era at the end of January, you referred in the conclusion of your speech to issues of leadership and influencing—specifically the dilemma of whether politicians will resort to following the demands and pressures exerted on digital social networks, or if the networks should follow the politicians and their leadership. Would you elaborate on how you perceive this issue and what you see as the appropriate paradigm for digital political behaviors?

I believe that, today, big data is corrupting our mindset and is also corrupting the way we see things in society. It probably is also corrupting the values we have. I believe that, while [digital influences] can corrupt, we should not lose our values, our credibility, and our identities, or the human way of thinking. Data should help [politicians in making decisions] but it should not be [directing] our decisions instead of ourselves. I am pro-technology and pro-evolving, but I also believe that humans still need to [stay in charge]. There are many stories about things like dataism and the danger of data today. We cannot control it, but we need to contain it. 

Lebanon is well-acquainted with the true diaspora returnee: the individual born in Lebanon who departed at some point in the 20th century, who has one or multiple tertiary education degrees—often earned at a ranking European or American university—and who succeeded in his career abroad before returning to Lebanon, for reasons ranging from family responsibilities or/and love to entrepreneurial hunger and will to invest. Some spirited entrepreneurs even get involved in diaspora organizations.

However, while this personality is frequently encountered in the entrepreneurial private sector economy of Lebanon, it has not been so common—at least for several political generations in positions of power, until the arrival of the 2019 Council of Ministers—to meet a minister that fits the profile. Executive sat down with Adel Afiouni, minister of state for information technology and investment, to understand his vision for this new role. Having been able to check the above-mentioned achievement boxes on Minister Afiouni’s professional track record in education and international banking, Executive is now standing by to tick off the delivery boxes on the new ministry’s KPI fulfillments or flops in the coming years.

E   What is your perspective on knowledge economy development in Lebanon, including the state of the digital ecosystem and the readiness of our cybersecurity?

I have not yet gone into the details of the cybersecurity topic. I just started and am first mapping the space. I am pretty familiar with the ecosystem, with the entrepreneurs, the VCs, and the government entities on the knowledge economy side, but in my first few weeks on the job I want to do a full mapping [of the digital landscape] and listen to all the key stakeholders from the government and the private sector, so that I can figure out what mandate I want to design for this ministry, what is the scope of work, and what is the vision that we want to achieve. From there, I want to determine the strategy and the deliverables. My ministry is actually a startup, which goes well with the way in which I like to operate. I am very excited about this and want to operate it in the way you found a business.

E   Are you, in the sense of a startup enterprise, bootstrapping?

In my opinion, the ministry has a very strategic role, and I myself have high expectations as to what we want to achieve. I also am dealing with stakeholders who have high expectations, as this sector is, by definition, a fast-growing sector with entrepreneurial participants. I want to build a long-term strategy with clear deliverables.

E   Of course, one does not expect a ministry to bootstrap, but there have been instances where entire ministries had no clear budgets and were forced to resort to tapping into external funding sources. Do you have a budget?

There are challenges. [The ministry] is a startup, and funding is obviously a key component when you build a startup. We have a commitment from the Prime Minister to grow this ministry and deliver on our ambitions. I need to submit a plan with a budget. If you look at the policy statement [by the Council of Ministers] that was presented to Parliament [in February], there is a portion that says that ministers of state will be given resources, including budget[s]. We have to ask for [such allocations] as we operate in an environment where we can obviously not overspend. We have to be very rigorous [on spending control], and I do not have any issue with leveraging existing resources and cooperating with a lot of stakeholders inside the government. There are some ministries where there is complementarity and scope and the need to cooperate, like the Ministry of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) and [the Ministry of Telecommunications]. All ministries effectively are partners, we are all partners in the project of digital transformation. There are also large components of the private sector who want to be involved and help. We need to leverage those resources.

E   As you mentioned, more than one ministry has been a stakeholder in building IT capacities in public administrations and Lebanon’s transition into the knowledge economy. OMSAR was a stakeholder together with UNDP in developing an e-government strategy document as far back as 2003, and then in producing another, similar strategy document that was published late last year. Did you already have time to look at the priorities as they were presented in those papers and determine which of them you will pursue as minister?

Yes, you are right that we had a number of strategy papers and strategic initiatives that we need to execute; the key is execution. I looked at a lot of documents, not only from OMSAR, but every ministry had developed [such documents and plans]. Some administration units have made substantial progress, but others are a bit late in the game [in terms of digitization]. We have not implemented the full strategy so far, so we can leapfrog. There are new technologies and new ways of digitizing the government and the economy. That is the first priority item.

Secondly, this government has a strong commitment to the knowledge economy as a pillar of our strategic vision for the economy. Therefore, and this is also in the policy statement, there is a strong commitment to the digital transformation of the administration and the economy. We are going to start discussions, such as [convening] inter-ministerial committee meetings. The key for such initiatives, in my experience from other countries, is to first put the governance in place. The strategy is key, but the governance is fundamental for executing it. We need to establish the governance structure and decide on the role of each ministry within the governance structure and how we will work on a shared infrastructure platform to be most efficient. Beyond this, each ministry or administration obviously will have its own [digitization] priorities and implementation inside the governance structure that can oversee the execution and [fulfillment of] KPIs.

Now, going back to my own priorities in entering into this position, I see the scope as twofold. One scope is the digital transformation of the government. That scheme has, for many reasons—transparency, efficiency, and the journey of the citizen—to be made much easier. This is important for the economy, but also for regaining the citizen’s trust in the government. That is one side of the scope. Equally important is the second side: the emergence of Lebanon, from an economic and business perspective, as a hub for technology and the knowledge economy. This is a sector where we have many advantages and have the potential, contrary to other sectors, to grow and become a meaningful player in the region.

For me, therefore, there is the digital transformation of government, where I have to work closely with every partner in government who is involved—[which is] pretty much everyone. OMSAR has done a great job in setting the stage, but we need to progress from there. And there is the private sector, business side to the knowledge economy, which we need to grow and transform from an emerging sector with a lot of potential into a well-established center for the region.

E   What is your position on interaction with the academic and civil society sides?

I have many ideas on that side but, to be fair, I need to develop these further. This weekend I spoke with the minister of education to jointly organize meetings with all the large universities and come up with a strategy where the universities can be actively involved in our vision and plans. When I talk about the private sector and how we can transform Lebanon into a business hub in the knowledge economy, enablers are key. Two enablers are first on my list. One is infrastructure, and that is where our neighbors at the ministry of telecoms are set on improving the infrastructure in the whole country. The second enabler is education, research, and development. We need to create [intellectual property] in the country; we do not just want to be an intermediary. To do that, we need strong research and development. We need to adapt the curriculum in the universities to the business world and to the new technologies. It is a part of the strategy and very important for us to include new technologies in the curriculum, starting with schools. I have friends in Parliament in this, and, for example, MP Nicolas Sehnaoui is going to propose a new law on introducing technology subjects in schools. We also need to do the same at the university level, where we need to introduce new technologies and link the universities better to the business ecosystem. All this is starting, but I think we need to turn it into a focused plan.

E   If we turn to talk about the business community and specifically the financial sector, what is your perspective on the role of banks, and especially the function of Circular 331, for the development of the knowledge economy in Lebanon?

I think Circular 331 has been a major catalyst that has effectively jump-started the whole ecosystem [of the knowledge economy]. As we all know, you can have many plans, but if you have no funding for a plan, you can’t progress. I salute [Banque Du Liban Governor Riad Salameh] for his vision on this. [Circular] 331 has been a fantastic initiative, and what it did was basically make capital available to the startup ecosystem. Our role in government is not only to support it, but to complement it. [Circular] 331 has brought the banks as major investors into the ecosystem, but there are other types of investors that we also need to bring in [to] diversify the funding sources for the ecosystem. The most important thing is for our country to attract capital, not just in the form of deposits, but in any form of investments. Thus, we need to supply those other investors with sets of incentives and support. We have a pool of capital available, which mostly is diaspora capital, that we need to attract and encourage. So far, we have focused on this pool mostly as a source of deposits. That is fine, but we have to also attract them for investments in productive sectors. One of my priorities as minister for information technology and investment is to see how we can attract more diaspora capital to productive sectors in Lebanon, and in particular to the knowledge economy sector by providing support, help, and incentives.

E   Does the minister of state for information technology and investment then also have a vital stake in collaboration with the central bank and the Capital Markets Authority of Lebanon?

We have a great relationship with the governor and the CMA, and we complement each other. We have to work hand-in-hand supporting crucial flows of capital into the country.

E   Does your sightline also extend to a perspective on financial sector companies and banks on issues such as new payment solutions in the country?

Anything that makes the ecosystem more efficient, where we can see potential for growth and that helps us with digitization and the digital transformation of the economy has enablers that are important, and one of them is moving into a cashless society, where payments can actually be made in a more efficient and transparent way. This is part of my priorities.

E   In order to create a virtuous cycle or upward development spiral for Lebanon’s digital transition, it seems that this country needs to achieve much: investments, reforms, cybersecurity, digital identity, and e-governance. As the country would work on all these issues, do you see them as priority needs that are best pursued consecutively or concurrently? Phrased differently, must we achieve a succession of milestones or will it be better to work on all fronts at the same time?

As I see this, the tracks are parallel, and we should avoid taking on [digital transformation] one step after another. If we have a governance structure and agree on a common platform or shared principles, everything should go in parallel. [In this way,] we will actually create a virtuous cycle. For example, we will not wait for everything [else] to be ready before going to attract investment. This is because having attracted a small investment sometimes puts pressure on other things to progress faster.

E   On the cybersecurity side, there seem to be several options in the sense of having centralization in the management of citizens’ data and single-source issuances of digital identity files or having more of a decentralized approach. Do you favor one approach?   

I have my views on that as I’ve done some work on [such issues] in my previous work. However, to be fair, these are sensitive matters that touch on national security. They involve the Ministry of Defense, the interior ministry and many organizations. Thus I would rather first discuss these matters and hear views from different parties before we can come up with a solution. As far as I’m concerned, it’s very important to take into account some of the opinions from inside the government, especially from [the] security [establishment].

As I mentioned earlier these [cybersecurity issues] are matters where we’ve been a bit too late. At this stage, where we already have digitized a lot of data, we need to put the mechanism in place to protect our country and our citizens. It is also very important to protect the privacy of citizens’ data.

E   Are we going to see another national plan on cybersecurity and other digital and e-government issues, something such as a national digital strategy, the next edition?

I hope we don’t need to recreate this because there’s a lot of good work that has been done. One of the reasons I see for delays [in implementing a national digital strategy] is that we’ve seen a lot of strategy papers come in. They keep reinventing the wheel. I prefer if we actually leverage the work that has been done and really [do this] in the near term. We will agree on a deadline [for the government’s digital transition] so we [can] start implementing [the strategy]. We can get inspiration from a lot of countries that were in similar situations. We need to execute [our strategy].

E   One of the experiences that have marked periods of technical migration and innovation seems to have been that in taking these steps, countries have tended to make mistakes. Perhaps it has even been necessary for administrations to make mistakes on the road to e-governance and learn from them. But as for Lebanon, it seems today that we are out of time and cannot afford to make mistakes and learn from them. How would you solve this challenge?

Hopefully we can progress faster by learning from other countries’ mistakes and journeys into digital transformation. We honestly just need to have a clear governance—something that we don’t have today—and then this governance will lead to the assignment of [the needed] roles. Some of these roles will be handled at the ministry’s level, but to make things more efficient, shared infrastructure, with the ability to communicate between government entities and use similar tools, is very important, and we do not have this yet.