Egypt hopes cooperation with French CMA CGM achieves qualitative leap in Alexandria Port development: Sisi

CAIRO – 21 June 2023: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt hopes that cooperation with the French shipping company CMA CGM represents an added value and a qualitative leap in Alexandria Port development.

Such cooperation should enhance the activities of the port at the regional and international levels by implementing the international procedures in port operation and benefiting from foreign expertise, the Egyptian Presidency cited Sisi as saying.

He added that this cooperation aims to help raise the global classification of Egyptian ports in the fields of logistics and trade.

Sisi made the remarks as he met with Rodolphe Saadé, the CEO of the French company on Wednesday, during the president’s current visit to Paris to attend the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, scheduled for 22-23 June.

The meeting discussed expanding CMA CGM’s activities in Egypt during the coming period and followed up on the ongoing cooperation with the company in the field of navigation, ports and maritime transport, especially with regard to Tahya Misr multipurpose maritime terminal in Alexandria.

For his part, Saadé praised the business climate in Egypt, which is witnessing a positive and rapid development.

Saadé also stressed the French company's aspiration to expand cooperation with the Egyptian side in managing additional ports, including the operation of logistic areas and terminals.

This cooperation comes in light of the multiple development projects being implemented in Egypt, which represents a great opportunity and a promising market to receive major foreign companies to invest in various fields, Saadé added.

Sisi inaugurated the Tahya Misr multipurpose maritime terminal located at the Alexandria Port in mid-June as part of the national plan to develop Egyptian ports.

The station is expected to operate with an annual capacity of 12-15 million tons of goods and is meant to become a green smart station that helps transform the Alexandria Port into a regional and global hub for logistics and trade.

The state has been working to develop the Alexandria Port at a cost of around LE 60 billion.