As part of his current visit to Germany, Engineer Hassan Al-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, held extensive meetings with a number of senior officials in the German government, as well as groups of businessmen and company representatives.
The Minister met with Mr. Robert Habeck, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, where the meeting reviewed ways to enhance joint economic relations between the two countries in various fields and at all levels.
During the meeting, the Minister reviewed the reform measures recently taken by the Egyptian government, which resulted in many positive results, which aim to facilitate measures to improve the business environment in Egypt, support and encourage foreign investments in the Egyptian market, and overcome the obstacles they face.
For his part, Mr. Robert Habeck, German Vice Chancellor and Minister of Economy and Climate Protection, praised the vision and efforts of the Egyptian government to improve the business environment, noting his country’s keenness to strengthen the frameworks of joint economic cooperation with Egypt during the next stage.
It was agreed to hold the work of the joint economic committee between the two countries in Cairo during the next 18-19 February with the participation of a delegation of German businessmen. It is expected to discuss all issues related to supporting economic and investment relations between the two countries and develop an executive action plan in this regard.
In a related context, the Minister held a number of meetings with German companies working in the fields of fiber production and bicycle manufacturing, where he stressed the Ministry’s keenness to provide all possible support for German companies to invest and expand in the Egyptian market and to benefit from the distinguished investment opportunities and components available, which include the availability of qualified workers and engineers with expertise. High efficiency, competitive wages and the availability of industrial lands, in addition to the distinguished geographical location and free and preferential trade agreements signed between Egypt and a large number of countries and major regional and global economic blocs, which enable the Egyptian product to freely access a number of countries. Large foreign markets
The minister also met with officials of the German company Belchem, which specializes in the production of flame-resistant fibres, which is the only German company and the world leader specialized in the field of producing flame-resistant fibres, which are used in the production of many industries, including cars, aircraft, and stoves. The company’s sales during the past year amounted to about 100 million. euro.
The meeting discussed the possibility of the company establishing an integrated factory for its products in Egypt that includes all stages of the production process, starting with glass manufacturing and ending with the product in its final form (flammable-resistant synthetic fibres). The direct investment cost for the first phase is about 30 million euros, and the project will be built on a total area. It amounts to 100 thousand square meters for all its stages, and it was agreed that a delegation from the company would visit Egypt to discuss steps to move forward with the project.
The minister also met with officials of the German company Cube, which specializes in producing bicycles of various types. The company is considered one of the most important European companies producing bicycles and owns distribution branches in a large number of German cities. It also owns production and assembly centers in Germany and a number of Asian countries.
The meeting reviewed the company’s board of directors’ decision to establish a factory to produce some bicycle parts manufactured from carbon-reinforced plastic (steering wheels, seat columns, bicycle rims) in Egypt, then export them to its factories in Europe as a production input for manufacturing bicycles. The company will also later study the possibility of establishing a factory to produce bicycles. Bicycles are completely manufactured in Egypt, as this project aims to produce about 300,000 pieces annually, with total exports of about 10 million euros annually, with an investment volume exceeding 5 million euros (for the first phase).
It was agreed that company officials would visit Egypt (for the second time) to obtain a plot of land with an area of about 40,000 square meters in 10th of Ramadan City.
The Federation of German Industries organized a working dinner in honor of the Minister in the presence of 22 German companies, where the Minister reviewed with the heads of these companies the corrective measures adopted by the Egyptian government to overcome obstacles facing foreign investors, especially with regard to customs release and financial, monetary and tax reform, in addition to the incentives offered by Egypt. For foreign investors, and what the preferential trade agreements concluded between Egypt and many international blocs offer, which represent a great opportunity for German companies to enter those markets by investing in Egypt. Many companies have expressed their interest in investing in Egypt in the fields of infrastructure, new energy, and communications technology.
The meetings were attended by Ambassador Mohamed Al-Badri, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Germany, Minister Plenipotentiary Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, Head of Commercial Representation, Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Gawad, Vice President of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and Dr. Abdel-Aziz Al-Sharif, Head of the Commercial Office in Berlin.
