Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Farid, met with UK Ambassador to Egypt Mark Bryson-Richardson, alongside officials from both sides, to discuss ways of strengthening the economic partnership between the two countries and expanding investment and trade cooperation.
The meeting also addressed the perspectives of the British business community, including its inquiries and proposals, while exchanging views on how to support Egypt’s efforts to attract greater foreign investment into priority development sectors.
The discussions form part of the Egyptian government’s broader strategy to deepen economic partnerships, enhance the business environment, and strengthen cooperation with key strategic partners.
Both sides reviewed opportunities for economic collaboration and the role of British companies in the Egyptian market, particularly in priority sectors such as industry, renewable and clean energy, financial services, healthcare, education, and financial technology (fintech). Discussions also focused on increasing bilateral investment flows, expanding trade exchange, and reinforcing existing partnerships.
The talks further covered ongoing British investments in Egypt, opportunities related to green transformation and decarbonisation finance, support for export-oriented industries, cooperation in services and technology, and initiatives promoting clean energy and low-carbon economic development.
Farid highlighted the steady progress in Egyptian-British relations, stressing the government’s commitment to expanding partnerships across industry, energy, services, technology, education, and healthcare to support economic growth and job creation.
He noted that the government continues to implement measures aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy, improving the investment climate, advancing green transformation, and reducing carbon emissions in line with evolving global environmental standards.
In this context, Farid proposed exploring potential cooperation between the UK’s British International Investment (BII) and Egypt’s Sovereign Fund to support exporting companies and help them reduce emissions from production processes. Such cooperation, he said, would enable Egyptian exporters to comply with international environmental standards and carbon border adjustment requirements while maintaining access to global markets, particularly in Europe.
The minister also outlined the ministry’s vision for developing the TradeTech Sandbox regulatory framework through support for start-ups, stronger integration of Egyptian exporters with global digital platforms, and the provision of incentives and marketing programmes designed to boost exports.
Farid further underscored the ministry’s focus on expanding service exports, particularly in education, training, healthcare, and technology, while enhancing Egypt’s attractiveness as a destination for students from across Africa.
He also highlighted ongoing efforts to develop a digital system for monitoring foreign direct investment (FDI) flows through advanced mechanisms capable of accurately reflecting the scale and impact of foreign investments.
For his part, Bryson-Richardson reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to strengthening its economic partnership with Egypt, praising developments in the Egyptian market and the opportunities available in sectors including clean energy, industry, infrastructure, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and digital transformation.
The ambassador noted that British companies are increasingly interested in expanding their investments in Egypt and exploring opportunities in green finance, low-carbon transition projects, clean energy, educational services, and healthcare.
At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides agreed that significant opportunities exist to further deepen economic cooperation, while emphasising the importance of addressing procedural challenges and enhancing implementation mechanisms to improve the efficiency and impact of joint projects.
The two sides also commended joint training programmes aimed at developing Egyptian talent in non-banking financial services, particularly the insurance sector, stressing the importance of expanding such initiatives to facilitate knowledge transfer and strengthen human capital.
Bryson-Richardson further emphasised the importance of maintaining close consultation and coordination between the two countries to advance shared economic objectives, strengthen investment and trade relations, create employment opportunities, and enhance productive capacity.
