A delegation of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK) and the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy announced opening a business representation office in 2020 in Cairo, during their current visit to Egypt.
The office will work on boosting cooperation and business relations between the two countries, said State Secretary Roland Weigert, head of the delegation to Egypt.
Moreover, the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce AHK’s CEO Jan Noether said that that the delegation comprises companies from various fields such as, construction, logistics, IT, waste management, and automotive.
During their visit, the Bavarian companies got the chance to meet with Egyptian authorities, have business to business (B2B) meetings with Egyptian companies, and on-site visits. They also developed a function plan in economic cooperation between Egypt and Bavaria.
Noether welcomed the Bavarian delegation to Egypt during his speech at a conference held on 28 October for the Bavarian delegation.
Meanwhile, Weigert noted that political stability and economic growth promote one another. He added that Egypt is the second strongest industrialised country in Africa, which is a true market of high interest and demand.
“Our companies are heading to have business in Egypt primary when they find reliable framework conditions in the country,” Weigert revealed.
“Egypt’s economic civilisation and political stability and opportunities for personal advancement are the main pillars for economic growth, which also contributes in political stability,” he added.
Therefore, Bavaria opens its support to import raw materials from Egypt that have a chance in the market there. In exchange, Bavaria can provide modern solutions to Egypt to modernise industry and infrastructure expansion.
He further added that Bavarian companies can supply customers with engineering solutions including machinery. This particular economic investment matters and needs strong dialogue and cooperation and long term partnerships between the two sides.
Moreover, the Bavarian companies have a great desire to have a sustainable and long lasting relationship with Egyptian companies.
“Our mission here is talking to policy and business markers with our counterparts to meet companies’ needs and find business partners for joint projects,” he noted.
Accordingly, Weigert disclosed that the delegation includes more than 30 representatives from politics, business, science, and administration sectors in Bavaria, who have visited some Egyptian sites and projects in the country.
The top objective of the visit is to establishing a business representation office in Cairo in 2020. The office will be important to develop and cooperate in joint projects in order to advancing our business relations in advancing new businesses and companies, Weigert concluded.
Ahmed Antar, first undersecretary at Egypt’s Ministry of Trade and Industry, said, “Although the economic circumstances that followed 2011, the Egyptian government under the leadership of president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has managed to develop a road map to achieve economic growth and sustainable development.”
With the cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Egypt has developed a comprehensive economic development programme and has great efforts in achieving micro economic development as well as increase exports, Antar added.
Furthermore, he noted that Egyptian economic indicators according to international institutions have been improved over several sectors.
“The Egyptian government has achieved a progress in decreasing unemployment compared to previous years. We have achieved strong economic development supported by private sector, and the government has paved the way to attract foreign direct investment is through developing new Investment Law,” he pointed out.
“This law provides more incentives for investors and facilities transferring money and expanding their businesses in Egypt,” he added.
He highlighted that Egypt is struggling to develop social protection networks to promote low-income people and marginalized groups.
“Germany is an important partner to Egypt and our commercial office in Berlin is one of the most active offices all over the world due to continuous cooperation and visits between the two countries,” Antar concluded.