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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 March 1999 Issue No. 419 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 March 1999 Issue No. 419
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'Timely visit' by Belgian prince
By Mona El-Fiqi
Following a meeting on Sunday with President Hosni Mubarak, Belgium's Crown Prince Philippe, visiting Egypt at the head of a 130-strong delegation, praised relations between the two countries, declaring that Brussels sought to cement them even further. The Belgians assured Egypt of their support for Cairo's position in the stalled peace process, with Deputy Prime Minister Elio di Rupo blaming Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the "catastrophic" stalemate.
President Mubarak meets with Belgium's Crown Prince Philippe on Sunday
"We agreed with President Mubarak that [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu is responsible for the stalemate," di Rupo told reporters. "The stalemate facing the peace process is a catastrophe. It is necessary to find a way of resuming the peace process after the Israeli elections; otherwise, violence will erupt anew in the region."
During Philippe's visit, three commercial agreements were signed. The first will promote investments, while the second is aimed at boosting cooperation between the Egyptian Exports Promotion Centre (EEPC) and the Belgian Foreign Trade Board. The third accord seeks greater cooperation between the Egyptian Exports Guarantee Company and the Belgian Agency for Exportation Credit.
Mohie Aql, deputy chairman of EEPC, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the aim of the agreement signed by his centre was to increase the volume of trade exchange, which currently stands at $250 million annually.
The Belgian delegation included officials and businessmen representing ministries, regional bodies, financial institutions, federations and chambers of commerce. They were briefed on the current state of the Egyptian economy at a seminar called "Egypt Today".
The aim of the seminar was to inform the delegation that government policy encourages both the Egyptian and foreign private sectors and to encourage businessmen and multinationals to invest in non-traditional services such as insurance, utilities and infrastructure through BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) and BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, Transfer) projects.
Abdel-Moneim Saudi, chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, told the visitors that Egypt's GDP had almost doubled in less than six years, assuring businessmen and foreign organisations of a promising future. According to Saudi, the Egyptian private sector accounts for more than 60 per cent of total GDP.
"The Belgian visit is timely because we are very keen to hear about what is going on in Egypt and to promote cooperation between Egypt and Belgium at a time when the performance of the Egyptian economy is being praised worldwide," Jan Grauls, director-general for external economic relations at the Belgian Foreign Ministry, said.
Saying Egypt is a promising market for Belgian companies, Philippe Jeanmart, export manager at the Belgian firm Imperbel, noted that some 50 Belgian companies are operating in Egypt at present, mainly in the chemical and construction sectors. Jeanmart said bureaucracy has been the main problem facing his company, which has been operating in Egypt since 1994.
