14 - 20 February 2002
Issue No.573
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 14 - 20 February 2002 Issue No.573 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
EXPOSPAIN in Egypt
Spain chose Egypt to host a recent trade promotion event. Shaimaa Labib reports
Over 50 industrial, technological and production companies from Spain were in Egypt last week to take part in EXPOSPAIN EGYPT 2002: a multi-sector exhibition of Spanish industry and technology geared towards increasing economic cooperation between the two countries. The exhibition, which took place at the General Organisation for International Exhibitions and Fairs (GOIEF), was organised by the Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza chambers of commerce.
On the Spanish side, the ceremony was inaugurated by Jordi Pujol, president of the Generalitat (federal government) of Catalonia, Francisco Utrera, secretary-general of commerce, and Antoni Negre, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping in Barcelona. For Egypt, honours were performed by Youssef Boutros-Ghali, minister of foreign trade, Ali El-Saidi, minister of industry and technological development, and Shafiq Boghdadi, deputy chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries.
According to Pujol, neither Spain nor the European Union have yet benefited from the outcome of the 1995 Barcelona Conference, a shortcoming that has led to a void in EU-Mediterranean relations. However, the current Spanish government is intent on making good use of Spain's current six- month chairmanship of the EU to promote relations between Europe and North Africa, notably Egypt.
"We have to consolidate our presence in Egypt which will open the gate to other Mediterranean countries," Pujol said. The Catalan president described the decision of 50 Spanish companies to take part in the exhibition as proof positive of Spanish industry's confidence in the future of the Egyptian market.
Pujol's view was echoed by Antoni Negre, who said that "Egypt holds great expectations for Spanish companies looking for business opportunities, not only because it's a large country in terms of population, but also because of its economic and commercial capacity."
According to Spanish officials, Egypt's growth potential, accelerated by an ever- liberalising economy, favours Spanish initiatives for increased trade. In recent years, Egypt has pursued a stable and constant economic policy resulting in a solid macro-economic picture: a growth rate of six per cent, inflation of around four per cent, a public deficit kept at one per cent a year and reserves of some $15 billion - enough to cover nine months of imports. All these factors lead Spanish companies to view Egypt favourably.
According to Boghdadi, "Egypt offers ample opportunities for investment: the private sector leads the economy, and is in a position to attract know-how, technology and joint ventures."
The inauguration of Egypt's first EXPOSPAIN is the fruit of initiatives undertaken by the Spanish and Egyptian governments to promote trade, according to Francisco Utrera. "Spanish and Egyptian heads of state and government, as well as economists and businessmen, have made a number of bilateral visits in recent years. These have laid the foundations for EXPOSPAIN which, though taking place at a difficult moment in international affairs, is being held to consolidate Hispano- Egyptian trade relations," he said.
In addition to EXPOSPAIN, the Spanish secretary-general of commerce highlighted other events which will take place with the objective of further promoting Euro- Mediterranean relations, such as the upcoming meeting of European trade ministers in the Spanish city of Toledo. At that meeting, it is predicted that measures will be adopted to establish a Euro- Mediterranean accumulation zone, an investment protection agency and a Euro- Mediterranean fund.
Boutros-Ghali called upon Spain to lead the process of cooperation in the Mediterranean basin. "Spain has passed from an autocratic regime to one of complete liberalisation and economic development. We have much to learn from this process and from Spanish industrialisation," he said.
Among the most important Spanish exports to Egypt in 2001 were chemical products (worth 71.84 million euros), electrical material (27.23 million euros), automotive equipment, components and accessories (10.33 million euros). The trade deficit between Spain and Egypt for the year 2001 stood at 84.75 million euros compared to 175.19 million euros for the year 2000. Spanish exports to Egypt stood at 285.19 million euros in 2001 compared to 200.44 million euros worth of imports from Egypt for the same year.
During the exposition, the Federation of Egyptian Industries and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping of Barcelona signed a cooperation agreement for commercial and economic exchange. Under the agreement, an Egyptian trade office is expected to be created on the premises of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona.
In an earlier step to promote trade, the Spanish secretary of state for trade, tourism and small and medium business and the Egyptian minister of planning and International cooperation in 1998 signed a financial cooperation agreement that will expire at the end of 2002. Under this agreement, Egypt will receive $310 million in aid. Of this, $10 million will be donated to finance project viability studies, while the remaining $300 million will take the form of mixed long-term low-interest loans used to finance the purchase of Spanish goods and services for development projects. The credits will be of two types: there will be $180 million worth of concession credits paid to the Egyptian Government from the Development Aid Fund (FAD) for the whole period, and $120 million will take the form of export credits.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page