Sisi calls for German industrial zones in Egypt

CAIRO – 12 June 2017: German companies are encouraged to boost their investments in Egypt through establishing German industrial zones, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said Monday.

Speaking at the German-Egyptian Joint Economic Committee in Berlin, Sisi explained that the zones can be in the sectors of vehicles, medical supplies, engineering industries, telecommunication and technology.

Talking about bilateral trade, Egyptian exports to Berlin jumped 31 percent in the first quarter of 2017 € 329.5 million ($368 million), up from € 250.7 billion in the same quarter last year, Sisi said.

Meanwhile, imports from Berlin recorded € 1.5 billion, up from € 1 billion in Q1 2016, marking € 46.8 billion, which Sisi said are majorly equipment, machineries and industry raw materials.

Bilateral trade between Egypt and Germany exceeded € 5.5 billion in 2016.
The president highlighted that there are around 948 German companies, working with $ 2.6 billion in investments, “none of them existed the Egyptian market since 2011,” he said.

“Egypt is undertaking several development projects that are considered promising investment opportunities such as the Suez Canal Axis Development project, a national project for roads, the New Administrative Capital, in addition to huge projects in the electricity sector,” Sisi said during the committee.

Sisi added that Egypt is currently drafting a national strategy for car manufacturing, which he said would allow German car manufacturers to enjoy several incentives.