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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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EU partnership soon
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MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Amr Moussa said he is hopeful Egypt's partnership agreement with the European Union (EU) will be signed soon, reports Niveen Wahish. Addressing members of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC), Moussa said, "We have achieved progress in negotiations and are now hopeful that in the coming few months we will be able to sign the partnership agreement." Moussa said he hopes the agreement will be concluded during the current German presidency of the EU. Describing negotiations between Egypt and the EU as having been "very difficult", with negotiators on both sides being "very tough", Moussa said that, nevertheless, "this toughness is going to produce a good document" which will guarantee that the partnership agreement will not "suffocate" Egypt's industrial and agricultural sectors. Dubbing the partnership agreement as Egypt's "most ambitious endeavour to integrate into the world economy," Moussa said that it should increase the economy's growth rate by anything ranging from 0.5 per cent to one per cent. But in order to make the most of the agreement, Egypt must upgrade its infrastructure and industry and improve its export performance. "The (Egyptian) private sector should not and cannot satisfy itself with the local market and will have to opt for more," he stressed. While the government is doing all it can to open up new markets, and establish a legal framework for cooperation by signing agreements eliminating double taxation and protecting investments, it is still the private sector which must bear the responsibility of exporting, said Moussa. The German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce is the new name of the German Arab Chamber of Commerce. The board of the chamber believes that the new title better describes the chamber's membership, which has changed its nature, according to Peter Gopfrich, executive director of the chamber. While in the past GACIC members were mostly agents representing foreign companies, today more than half of the chamber's members are engaged in industrial activity.Women mean business
A DELEGATION representing the Association of Businesswomen of Egypt 21 (BWE21) flew to the United Kingdom this week to attend a conference on Arab businesswomen. The Egyptian delegates were invited by the British Council in Cairo. The conference, organised by the British Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), aims at promoting economic ties between Egypt and the UK and coordinating efforts by Arab and British businesswomen to enhance women's role in public life. BWE21 members will also meet with British businesswomen's associations and compare business experiences. This is the second meeting between Egyptian and British businesswomen who first met last year in a seminar on "Women in Business" organised by the British Council.
