Fair fares well
Despite the war, and the absence of the US and the UK, it was more or less business as usual at the Cairo International Fair last week, reports Eman Youssef
The 36th Cairo International Fair, which opened its doors to the public last week, has attracted participants from 60 countries to its Nasr City location. In 2002 some 76 countries attended.
Some 3,000 local companies and 2,000 foreign firms (compared to 3,500 and 2,500 respectively last year) displayed a wide variety of products, ranging from building materials, electronic goods and computers, to furniture, leather goods, and small household appliances. The Cairo Fair is considered to be one of the most important trade fairs in the Middle East. It attracts a sizeable number of local and foreign participants every year.
"The number of overseas participants has decreased since last year, because of war in Iraq, a reflection of some foreign countries' negative perception of the Middle East's political and economic climate," Chairman of the General Organisation for International Exhibitions and Fairs (GOIEF) El-Saeed Saleh told Al-Ahram Weekly.
"We were also affected by the absence of some countries, such as the United states and Britain," said Saleh. However, he did add that this was expected. The absence of Saudi Arabia and Iran, however, was somewhat of a surprise. Saleh said that Saudi officials claimed they could not convince enough companies to attend the fair, a claim that he thought, "sounded doubtful".
He emphasised that Palestine and Iraq were both well represented at the fair, despite the current crises.
Opening this year's fair, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid stated that the government would act to eliminate barriers, including cumbersome customs procedures, which companies say hinder their commercial transactions.
Ebeid said that his talks, with a number of Egyptian participants, focussed on projects to create employment for young people. He also alluded to the importance of supplying the domestic market with local products and exporting them.
Panama, Portugal, Armenia and Georgia are taking part in the fair for the first time. Their participation is a significant step towards boosting bilateral economic and trade ties, according to Saleh.
The Egyptian ministers for foreign trade, the public business sector, industry, electricity, supply and internal trade and several Arab and foreign ministers of trade and industry also attended the inauguration.
"I believe that trade and economic relations can help solve political problems," Kursad Tuzmen, the Turkish minister for foreign trade told the Weekly. Tuzmen emphasised that one country alone cannot face others in this age of economic blocs.
Some 40 Turkish companies are participating in the fair, representing the garments, household goods, chemicals and construction and building materials sectors.
The first four days of the fair were reserved for professional trade visitors in order to give them the opportunity to benefit from the foreign and local exhibits.
"Overseas exhibitors, including Germany, view Egypt as a gateway to regional markets," chairman of the German- Arab chamber of industry and commerce, Peter Goepfrich told the Weekly.
Despite the Middle East's current political and economic climate, 20 German companies are participating in the fair, where they are displaying a wide range of products, from machines and electronics to painted plastics and food products. Praising the fair, Goepfrich said that the event was a good opportunity for trade agreements between German and Egyptian businessmen.
Saleh emphasised that local participants should interact with their foreign counterparts in order to acquaint themselves with new technologies and to further raise the standards of their products.
Companies based in 6 October City made a particularly strong showing. The agriculture and tourism sectors, alongside furniture manufacturers, were also well represented.
GOIEF, for its part provided, "a meeting place to assist [with] networking between Egyptian and foreign businessmen," according to Saleh. Facilities also included a computerised information centre for furnishing commercial data to investors.
Lectures were organised by various chambers of commerce addressing issues related to export, trade promotion and free trade arrangements, especially in the Arab region. "We hope that the progress made by Egyptian manufacturing and agricultural production companies will help them gain a greater market share, thereby offsetting the current slump," Saleh told the Weekly.
