 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 August 2000 Issue No. 496 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 24 - 30 August 2000 Issue No. 496
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters India-tech 2000
By Eman YoussefIn September, a four day exhibition sponsored by India's Engineering Export Promotion (EPPC) and Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion councils (ECSEP) will be held at the Cairo International Fair grounds. "Egypt is one of the most important emerging markets for Indian products and expertise," said C S Shukla, executive director of EPPC. "We believe that the business climate in Egypt is very encouraging -- especially after the Egyptian government started tariffs reductions," said Shukla. He noted that over the past three years Indian engineering exports to Egypt have increased by 60 per cent.
With more than 120 companies participating, the purpose of the conference is to invite the Egyptian business community to take a closer look at the Indian IT sector. Shnkar Mukherjee, India's ambassador, said, "We hope that the exhibition will not only leave a good impact on the Egyptian market but on the neighboring countries as well." The Social Fund for Development (SFD) is scheduled to organise seminars between Indian and Egyptian firms. Ambassador Mukherjee noted that the various training programmes offered by Indian technical and economic cooperation (ITEC) have already set the ground work for greater bilateral investment. The focus of ITEC is on small enterprise, computer software, hardware development and training. Much of this activity is concentrated in the financial sector. In total, 94 individuals since 1986 have benefited from ITEC programmes.
Furthermore, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Arab Organisation for Industrialization, SFD and the Indian companies Baehal Software and Bharat electronics. "The focus is on bilateral trade cooperation and the setting up of joint ventures" said Mukherjee.
"Egypt is attractive for Indian companies not just as an export market," he added, "but also increasingly because of the Egyptian market's potential as a regional hub." Mukherjee explained, "Egypt has a good base of trained people, and this, with India's technology, makes us optimistic about partnership possibilities. We believe that trade fairs are a good way to promote the contacts essential to doing business."
