Day: February 16, 2023

Despite their political differences of the past, Egypt and Turkey are bound by historical relations, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said.

“Therefore, we have been keen on maintaining our relations at the grassroots level, while continuing our close cooperation at economic as well as commercial levels,” Madbouli added during a meeting with a delegation of representatives of some Turkish companies operating in Egypt on Wednesday evening.

The delegation also included representatives of some Turkish firms planning to pursue more investments in Egypt over the period ahead.

Welcoming the Turkish delegation to the Cabinet’s new premises in the New Administrative Capital, Madbouli started the meeting by offering his deepest condolences over the victims of the destructive earthquake that hit southern Turkey and northern Syria early last week.

Madbouli pledged to offer full and constant support to Turkish investments in Egypt.

“Over the past 15 years, we have never seen any discriminatory treatment from the Egyptian government against Turkish companies of businesses,” said a Turkish company representative during the meeting, held in the presence Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir.

For their part, the delegation members emphasized the need to capitalize on Egypt’s strategic location as a trade and investment gateway to Africa, especially in light of the preferential trade zone agreements Egypt has signed with African nations, not to mention to the potential for expanding exports to Arab and Middle Eastern countries through Egypt.

They also touched upon their companies’ plans for expanding their businesses in Egypt, which amount to $500 million worth of new investments in total.

The delegation brought together representatives of Turkish companies involved in the fields of textiles, ready-made garments, pharmaceutical products, electric appliances, and developing industrial parks, including: Polaris International Industrial Parks, Hayat Holding, CRS Denim Garments Egypt, and K.C.G. Textile Egypt, a subsidiary of the prestigious Kucukcalik Group in Turkey, among others.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The agriculture sector is one of the target sectors to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), according to Fitch Solutions.

The Egyptian government is taking serious steps to curb inflation, increase local production and exports, reduce reliance on imports, and bolster both foreign investment and foreign exchange reserves, it added on its official website.

This came in a repot compiled by the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), during which it tackled international reports which cast a spot light on Egypt’s affairs.

As per the report, Egypt’s agricultural exports exceeded 6.3 million tons in 2022, making a fresh record high, with an increase of more than 624,000 tons from 2021, according to a statement of Egypt’s Agriculture and Reclamation Ministry on December 31 2022.

In 2022, Egypt opened 16 new markets for its agricultural products to help raise exports.

The report also shed light on the existence of various investment opportunities in the agriculture sector, topped by the land reclamation projects, including the New Delta project, which is located in an area of one million acres.

At the current period, great attention will be paid to domestic production with the government looking at alternative markets to source key commodities and promote localization of manufacturing.

Nevertheless, encouraging foreign investment would continue to be an important tool in Egypt’s efforts to promote growth, according to the report.

The government is still committed to promoting local agriculture production, the report said, noting that investment in this sector is expected to increase during FY 2022/2023.

The government also plans to promote local food production as COVID-19 showed that global food systems can become vulnerable, said the report.

The report, meanwhile, said that the government intends to increase local food and agriculture production by 11% on an annual basis.

The area allocated to wheat will increase by 200,000 feddans, while the area allocated to oilseeds will hike by 220,000 feddans, added the report.

The government is also exerting painstaking efforts to promote the production of local sugar, concluded the report.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Minister of Social Solidarity and Chairperson of the Nasser Social Bank (NSB) Nivine el Kabbag said that the bank has succeeded in employing 317 graduates at major tech companies via the “Wazeefa Tech” program, which connects young people with internship opportunities at IT companies.

The program, launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the National Telecommunication Institute, has been introduced under the slogan “Learn First, Pay Later”.

Since the launch of the program in December 2018, funds for “Wazeefa Tech” amounted to nearly EGP 10.7 million, Kabbag said in press statements Thursday 16/2/2023.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

BEIRUT, Lebanese caretaker Agriculture Minister, Abbas Hajj Hassan, announced yesterday that, the World Bank allocated 200 million U.S. dollars, to develop Lebanon’s agricultural sector.

“This project would put Lebanon on the path of recovery and contribute to food security in the country,” Hajj Hassan said, at a workshop held by the World Bank in Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek.

Production chains, water scarcity, alternative energy and agricultural guidance will be targeted by the project, he added.

Part of the money is a donation, while the rest is provided as a loan, that will go to small enterprises, the Lebanese minister noted.

The current severe financial crisis in Lebanon has prompted the country to diversify its economy, and reduce reliance on imports, which cost billions of dollars annually.

Source: Nam News Network