Dublin bound
TO HELP boost trade and investment ties, Egypt and Ireland last week signed an agreement to form a joint business council, reports Inas Mazhar from Dublin
A sizeable trade delegation from Egypt attended the two-day Egypt Investment Conference, held on the occasion of the signing of an agreement to establish the joint Ireland-Egypt Business Council.
Representatives from the textiles, food and agri-business and information technology sectors met with Irish businessmen to discuss areas of mutual business interest.
The conference commenced with the signing of an agreement to form the Ireland-Egypt Business Council, between the Ireland-Egypt Business Association Chairman Michael Dowling and the Egyptian Businessmen's Association Chairman Gamal El-Nazer. The council is expected to meet regularly to discuss advancing bilateral trade.
The agreement, which was signed under the auspices of Irish Minister of Trade and Commerce Michael Athern, TD and Egyptian Ambassador to Ireland Ashraf Rashed, consists of six articles aiming at promoting further expansion of Irish-Egyptian trade and economic cooperation.
The Ireland-Egypt Business Council, was defined in the agreement as "a non- governmental consultative body designed to render assistance in the establishment of direct business relations between Irish and Egyptian business organisations, firms and entrepreneurs, and to arrange the implementation of the agreed structures and areas of development of trade and economic cooperation."
The agreement also stipulated the exchange of practical assistance, the development of bilateral trade and investment, industrial and technological cooperation and the promotion of regular mutual exchange of economic, trade and business information and entrepreneurial experience on bilateral market activity.
The two parties pledged to "undertake to help and assist each other in the development and arrangement of exhibition activities, economic, technical and investment seminars, symposia, conferences and other events aimed at the expansion of Egyptian trade, economic and investment cooperation."
Following the signing , Mohamed El- Ghamrawy, chairman of General Authority for Investment and Free zones (GAFI) spoke about Egypt as a competitive base for production and investment. Ambassador Nehad Abdel-Latif, assistant minister of foreign affairs for international economic relations, explained Egypt's greater economic importance due to its role as a gateway to the Arab world and Africa.
The participants were then divided into three groups; textile industries, agri-business, food processing and dairy, and information technology and telecommunications. Each group formed a workshop, then displayed its results and recommendations to the conference at large.
After touring various industrial venues in Dublin, many of the Egyptian entrepreneurs continued on to a similar three- day conference in London organised by the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce and the Investment Promotion Office in London.
