Regionaly & Internationaly.. Egyptian-Chinese Relations Witness Great Leap

Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli stressed that Egyptian-Chinese relations have witnessed a great leap over the past period both at regional and international levels that were further developed to reach the level of strategic partnership during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's first visit to China in December 2014.

Addressing China's First International Import Expo (CIIE), Madbouli thanked the Chinese president and people for inviting Egypt to attend the event as a guest of honor.

This invitation mirrors China's keenness on boosting trade and economic cooperation with Egypt, he said.

He said the CIIE provides a real opportunity to enhance joint cooperation between Egypt and China in the commercial and investment domains, stressing that Egypt's participation in this important expo comes in recognition of China's efforts to promote international trade and achieve the principle of fair trade among countries.

At regional level, Egypt was among the earliest countries that signed joint cooperation agreement with China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative which was announced by the Chinese president in 2013, he added.

China is Egypt's fourth largest trade partner and Egypt is also China's fourth largest trade partner in the African continent, Madbouli said.

According to the 2017 statistics, trade between the two countries reached 11 billion dollars with trade balance being tilting towards the Chinese side. This shows the importance of more joint efforts for balanced trade between the two countries.

The Egyptian premier Mostafa Madbouli said as many as 1,080 Chinese companies are operating in Egypt in the various sectors including the industrial, communication and information technology, real estate, finance and development of economic zones.

Based on the two countries' resolve to achieve more progress in their joint investment cooperation, the premier said the two sides signed a framework agreement to increase productivity capabilities in each side, considering the step as a key mechanism for implementing a set of joint projects in the sectors of top priority.

He reiterated that the Egyptian side attached great importance to cooperation with China in light of such agreement in appreciation of the vital role played by the Egyptian-Chinese investment partnership in achieving the sustainable development goals.

Madbouli also highlighted the important package of economic and legislative reforms introduced by the Egyptian government to achieve development, citing the new investment law, the industrial licenses to key industries such as petrochemicals, maritime transport, leather and logistics.

Moreover, Madbouli highlighted the outlining of an investment map for industrial investment opportunities in the various Egyptian governorates and incentives provided to any targeted business in this sector, noting that such policies had turned Egypt into a first destination for direct investments in Africa according to international investment indicators issued by UNCTAD for 2018.

At the end of his speech, the premier invited the delegations participating in CIIE to inspect the Egyptian pavilion which is designed in the pharaonic style.