Cairo – Ashraf Abo Arafe
MinisterDr Liam Fox, UK Secretary of State for International Trade, concluded his successful visit to Egypt with a number of new partnership agreements in the healthcare, transportation, and financial services.
Minister Fox announced Bombardier Transportation UK as the preferred bidder and was awarded the two Cairo monorails ‘mega project’, worth €3bn.British company Vodafone was also awarded a $100m contract for a new health insurance IT system in Port Said. Vodafone’s expertise will play a pivotal role in the digital transformation of the healthcare service in Egypt and facilitate its accessibility to all Egyptians.
British pharmaceuticals giant GSK also announced an EGP 100m upgrade to two major production lines in Cairo. This investment will increase the production capacity and create new jobs for Egyptians.
During the visit, the Central Bank of Egypt announced UK’s development finance institution CDC Group as the first non-IFI bank to be granted an approval to provide ‘Tier 2’ capital to Egyptian Banks. This decision paves the way for CDC to invest an estimated $150-200m in Egypt’s banking sector. The CDC will also open an office in Egypt in the coming months, to support its increased engagement in Egypt.
Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade
On the sidelines of Minister Fox’s visit, UK company Micromesh also signed an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Military Production to manufacturing air filters for power stations.
Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox said: ‘’Now is a great time to be looking at the business opportunities with Egypt, a country projected to have one of the top 15 economies by 2050. As Egypt commits to carrying out its reform vision, the UK continues to support it in building a resilient, sustainable economy.”
British Ambassador to Egypt Sir Geoffrey Adams said: “I am delighted that with this visit we have been able to make practical progress that will create jobs and improve the prosperity of both the UK and Egypt. I am optimistic about what comes next. With Egypt’s economic reforms and the UK’s departure from the EU, we have the opportunity to tear down barriers to trade and investment, and strengthen our economic ties’’.
