Ashraf AboArafe
British Trade Envoy to Egypt, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, arrived in Egypt on 11 February for a five day visit, heading up the largest British trade delegation in nearly two decades. The visit will focus on the sectors of oil and gas, education, infrastructure and health.
The UK is Egypt’s largest foreign investor and this visit is an opportunity to further deepen the trade links between the two countries by exploring investment opportunities across Egypt. Over 50 companies will be taking part, including existing investors in Egypt such as Bombardier, Fujitsu, Mott MacDonald, and GSK, as well as companies looking to invest here for the first time.
The delegation includes the 33 companies from the Scottish Development International and six from the Energy Industries Council, whose companies focus on the oil and gas industry. It also includes 14 companies from the transport and healthcare sector, and four companies focused on opportunities in the education sector.
Sir Jeffrey will meet with Minister of Trade and Industry, Tarek Kabil; Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr Sahar Nasr; Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Rady; Minister of Education Dr Tarek Shawky; Minister of Higher Education, Eng. Khaled Abd El Ghaffar; and Minister of Transport Eng. Hesham Araffat.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said: ‘This is the largest trade delegation I have brought to Egypt, and is a very encouraging sign of the vast potential British companies are seeing in investing in Egypt’s future. Egypt and the UK are working to ensure that their trade relationship remains as strong as ever, by ensuring continuity of effect post-Brexit, which means in real terms that the investment links between the two countries can continue to go from strength to strength.’
His Excellency Ambassador John Casson said: ‘We’re seeing Egypt reaping the benefit of recent reforms, with a new wave of foreign investment and exports rising. The UK, as Egypt’s top economic partner, is here to support Egypt – through our work with the Egyptian government, through StartEgypt, our new fund to support Egyptian start-ups, and through our business-to-business links. The next step is to ensure that these reforms have a real impact on the lives of everyday Egyptians, by creating jobs, and it’s exciting to see so many British companies looking to invest here in order to do just that.’
