Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of KSA concludes his official visit to Egypt
Ashraf AboArafe
His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Mr. Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, concluded today an official visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt; during which he discussed strengthening bilateral economic ties and developing joint cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors between the Kingdom and Egypt. He also discussed mutual investment opportunities in promising strategic industrial sectors, most notably food and medicine, accompanied by His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Industry Affairs, Eng. Khalil bin Salama, His Excellency the CEO of the Saudi Export-Import Bank, Eng. Saad Al-Khalab, and His Excellency the CEO of the Saudi Export Development Authority, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Dhakir.
During the visit, His Excellency met with the Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and held a series of bilateral meetings with His Excellency the Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Transport and Industry, Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir, His Excellency the Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Eng. Hassan Al-Khatib, His Excellency the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Eng. Karim Badawi, His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, Hassan Abdullah, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Drug Authority, Dr. Ali Al-Ghamrawi.
These meetings discussed enhancing industrial integration between the Kingdom and Egypt in sectors related to food and pharmaceutical security and the automotive industry, and opportunities for localizing the pharmaceutical industry in the Kingdom. They also stressed the importance of forming the Saudi-Egyptian Supreme Coordination Council, and valued the signing of the agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments for its role in enhancing the growth of joint investments, increasing trade exchange rates, in addition to its role in stimulating the private sector to exploit the qualitative opportunities available for investment in the two countries.
Within the framework of the official visit of His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources to Egypt, His Excellency the Deputy Minister for Industry Affairs, Eng. Khalil bin Salama, held a meeting with the Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, and visited several food and pharmaceutical companies and met with their officials, including “Mina Pharm”, “Eva Pharma”, “Medical Union Pharma” for medicines, and the Egyptian British Company for General Development “Galena”. These meetings discussed mutual opportunities in the field of food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. His Excellency also visited the “Beyti” Food Company factory, owned by the Saudi “Almarai” Company, and was briefed on the latest food manufacturing technologies used in production processes.
It is noteworthy that the preparatory meetings and visits of the technical teams in the two countries, which preceded the visit of Minister Al-Khurayef, identified several paths for industrial integration between the Kingdom and Egypt, including integration in supply chains, advanced manufacturing, development of industrial human capabilities, and addressing the challenges facing exporters. It also discussed activating the agreements and memoranda of understanding concluded between the two sides, including an agreement between the National Academy of Industry and the University of Swedish Technology; with the aim of developing human cadres in the industrial sector.
