Egypt, France sign MoU to develop national railway system

CAIRO – 24 October 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi received on Tuesday the chairperson of France’s national state-owned railway company Guillaume Pepy in Paris, according to statements by presidential spokesperson, Alaa Youssef.

The meeting included discussions on Egypt’s efforts to develop the railway system in the country, including plans by the Ministry of Transport to upgrade the signal and operation systems of the railway companies. Also, Sisi and Pepy discussed Egypt’s investment in enhancing the human and electronic capacity at the National Railways Authority.

The spokesperson said Sisi welcomed the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the French and Egyptian national railway companies. He explained that through this cooperation, Egypt would benefit from French expertise in areas of capacity building, risk assessment, and developing Egyptian network and systems.

Furthermore, the two discussed the French experience of connecting development projects to cities and ports, which could lead to an increase in revenues from these projects if Egypt applied the same approach.

Pepy also welcomed Sisi and said the company is keen to cooperate with Egypt on various development projects implemented in the country over the coming years.

The meeting comes as part of a four-day official visit by Sisi to France which started Tuesday. During his official visit, the president will discuss bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concerns. Both parties are set to witness the signing of 17 cooperation agreements.