NEWS FROM EGYPT - MOHIELDIN, MALAYSIAN MINISTER ON ENHANCING ECONOMIC COOPERATION

[09 October 2009  ]

CAIRO - The Minister of Investment, Mahmoud Mohieldin held talks with Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry, Mustapha Mohamed and his escorting delegation, which included 16 top officials from Malaysia's Trade and Industry Ministry, Export and Import Bank, the Industrial Development Authority, External Trade Development Institution, SMEs Development Institution, plus a number of representatives of Science and Technology and Planning Ministries.

MOHIELDIN, MALAYSIAN MINISTER ON ENHANCING ECONOMIC COOPERATION 

[09 October 2009  ]

CAIRO - The Minister of Investment, Mahmoud Mohieldin held talks with Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry, Mustapha Mohamed and his escorting delegation, which included 16 top officials from Malaysia's Trade and Industry Ministry, Export and Import Bank, the Industrial Development Authority, External Trade Development Institution, SMEs Development Institution, plus a number of representatives of Science and Technology and Planning Ministries.

The delegation also includes chairpersons and representatives of 14 Malaysian investment groups specialized in infrastructure, road, bridges, construction, logistic services and urban planning.

Meetings that focused on projects and cooperation opportunities were attended by Ambassador Mohamed al Urabi who is the foreign minister's assistant for international economic affairs, Ziyad Baha'a Eddin, chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) and Osama Saleh, head of the General Authority for Investment (GAFI).

Also attending were the Investment Minister's First Assistant, Yasser el Qadhi, the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) chairman, Amr Assal, the Egyptian Stock Exchange vice-chairman, Mohamed Umran, the deputy chairman of the General Authority for the Special North-West Suez Gulf Economic Zone, Ahmed Amin, leader of Egypt's team in the Egyptian-Malaysian Business Council, Sherif el Gabali, board chairman of the Holding Co. for Metallurgical Industries, Zaki Basyuni and board chairman of the Holding Insurance Co., Mahmoud Abdullah Representatives of the National Construction Co., heads of el Nasr Auto and the Engineering Automotive Manufacturing Co. and senior officials at the Investment Ministry and GAFI attended the meetings.

The visit is part of a tour by the Malaysian delegation to enhance trade and investment cooperation with Middle Eastern countries and explore investment opportunities.

Malaysia seeks to devise a program to promote cooperation with Middle Eastern countries and activate its trade, investment and economic cooperation deals.

In the meeting, Minister Mohieldin stressed the importance of the visit which he said is coinciding with Egypt's and Malaysia's move toward deeper investment and economic relations and their efforts to activate the results of mutual visits, as well as the results of Malaysian investment groups' visits to Egypt.

Both countries seek to launch strategic partnership projects reflecting their unique relations.

The minister pointed to his Aug. 2008 visit to Malaysia at the head of a high-ranking delegation, which also included representatives of private and public business companies.

He lauded the great progress in the development process in Malaysia, saying Egypt's government is looking forward to drawing upon Malaysian experience in the different fields, particularly financial services, credit classification, asset management, research and development, building and construction and infrastructure-associated fields, metallurgical industries and technology transfer.

Malaysia's minister, Mohamed, said his country would like to cooperate with Egypt in various fields. He said his visit had aimed to enhance economic cooperation and investment and trade with Egypt.

The Malaysian official reviewed Malaysia's economic indicators and growth and development efforts, as well as Malaysia's program to widen its investment relations with world countries.

According to the Malaysian minister, the time is ripe to crystallize efforts of cooperation and mutual visits between Egypt and Malaysia into specific projects with a view of developing their economic and investment relations.

He said Malaysia has been looking at cooperation with Egypt as the main gateway to achieve economic cooperation with Middle Eastern countries.

The two ministers agreed upon activating the memo of understanding inked by Egypt's GAFI and IDA and Malaysia's Industrial Development Authority to enhance joint investment.

Mohieldin sees it essential to benefit from MoUs signed between the National Bank of Egypt and Malaysia's UEM Group and Export and Import Bank. They can be used in developing the Malaysian investments in Egypt.

Minister Mohieldin reviewed major infrastructure projects currently promoted by the Egyptian government. Malaysia received a list of these projects – expected to cost some LE 120 billion in the three coming years nationwide in fields of roads, bridges, water desalination and renewable energy.

Businesspersons escorting the Malaysian minister held meetings with their Egyptian counterparts in coordination with Egypt's Trade and Industry Ministry, GAFI and the Egyptian-Malaysian Business Council.

- Ministry of Investment, Arab Republic of Egypt -