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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 April 2000 Issue No. 478
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Heritage Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
Irish moos
JOE WALSH, Ireland's minister of agriculture and food, in Cairo this week to participate in the fourth Agro Food Fair, met with his Egyptian counterpart and the minister of economy."Egypt is one of the most valuable markets for Irish beef exports," said Walsh. Egypt imported 105,000 tonnes of Irish meat last year, a third of its total meat imports. Irish exports to Egypt are worth more than $200 million, three quarters of which are meat products.
During his meetings, the Irish minister discussed ways of correcting the balance of trade between the two countries. Egypt's exports to Ireland amount to only $10 million, mostly aromatic essences, textiles and yarn, processed foods, ceramics and furniture.
Walsh pointed out that an increasing number of Irish tourists -- 25,000 in 1999 -- is coming to Egypt, a substantial figure given Ireland's total population of 3.5 million.
An Egyptian-Irish business association was established in 1999 to broaden trade exchanges between the two countries.
Consultants gather
PRICE Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) began its regional meeting for the Middle East and South Africa in Cairo last week.PWC has been closely involved in the restructuring of several Egyptian economic sectors and in privatisation.
"During the first phase of privatisation we offered advice to the Egyptian government on what companies to be privatised. We still carry out a complete economic assessment of many companies to be sold," said Farid Mansour, senior partner at PWC Egypt, who described the company as "a political player" with the Egyptian government.
The company is also advising on the technical upgrading of the Egyptian legal system, tax and customs procedures, updating computer systems and training more staff in the latest technological practices," said PWC's Regional Middle East Manager Ben Wilson.
