Minister, Iraqi Chief Discuss Economic Cooperation

Mahmoud Mohieldin, the Minister of Investment, has met with Sami Raouf Al-Araji, Chairman of the Iraqi National Investment Commission (NIC). The meeting comes in the context of Mohieldin's current visit to participate in the meetings of the Egyptian-Iraqi joint committee.

The meeting was attended by Osama Saleh, Chairman of the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) and a number of Ministry of Investment officials, who are responsible for institutional development, training, investment, the business sector, and international relations.

Dr. Mohieldin has stressed the Investment Ministry's keenness to provide all kinds of technical and investment support for the government institutions and investment companies in Iraq, seeking to promote economic relations in light of the strategic relations between the two countries.

The meeting discussed the results of the investment delegations' visits between the two countries, which started with Mohieldin's visit to Iraq last August at the head of an investment delegation including a group of leading public and private companies representing the fields of pharmaceuticals, insurance, building materials, construction, import and export, fertilizers, food products, furniture, petrochemicals and financial services. The delegation also included representatives from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, GAFI, the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority and the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

Also agreed upon were a number of joint investment projects, especially in the sectors of housing and building materials, construction, rehabilitation of ports, fertilizers and food products.

Dr. Mohieldin has stressed that Egypt is keen to be at the forefront of countries participating in the development and reconstruction of Iraq. It also seeks to increase the number of visits and investment missions between the two countries in order to promote the bilateral investment relations and improve the climate of investment.

The two sides also discussed the details of the executive program of training and institutional development whose first phase aims to improve the skills of some 600 employees in the Iraqi bodies and institutions at the federal level and at the level of the Iraqi provinces.

For his part, Al-Araji has stressed Iraq's interest in drawing upon the Egyptian companies' expertise in all fields, especially in the construction of housing units, as Iraq needs more than 3.5 million housing units over the coming years. Iraq also seeks to draw upon the Egyptian expertise in tourism, industry and agriculture, he said, adding that he does his best to overcome all the obstacles facing the Egyptian companies and institutions in this regard.

He has also thanked the Egyptian Investment Ministry for supporting the NIC in order to promote the investment and technical cooperation in those areas. He has referred to his desire to follow the Egyptian example in applying the One-Stop-Shop system and to seek the help of the Egyptian cadres in this regard.