UNIDO deputy director: Egypt a global leader in food, engineering industries

CAIRO – 26 August 2021: Deputy Regional Director of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Ahmed Rizk praised Egypt’s traditional food industries that have existed for more than 500 years, saying they cannot be overlooked.

Rizk explained that the starting point for the work of the United Nations in traditional food industries “is to make a comprehensive survey of the Egyptian heritage of these traditional and local industries, especially food.”

“Through this survey, more than 400 products were identified, including well-known products such as dates and different types of cheese like: Al-Damiati – Quraish; meat and fish preservation; white and black honey, in addition to dried fruits and many other products,” he continued.

The Deputy Regional Representative of UNIDO further added: "We pay a lot of attention to this sector, and in this regard we have started preparing to organize an international competition that focuses on encouraging competition and demonstrating all Egyptian capabilities in the field of traditional food industries.”

He explained that an exhibition will be organized on the sidelines of this competition, where major international companies working in the field of trade will be invited, in addition to major international tourism companies and hotels, to work on opening markets and investment contracts to support these high-quality industries.

The competition will be organized during the first quarter of next year, 2022, he said, pointing out that this competition has been applied in a number of countries, including Switzerland, Morocco, Tunisia and Georgia.

UNIDO official stressed the positive impact and the boom in the traditional food industries that the accompanying exhibition provides.

The Deputy Regional Director of UNIDO Rizk also referred to the Egyptian leadership in the engineering industries, especially electrical and household appliances, and the high-quality equipment provided by Egyptian factories and companies that compete with global industries, in addition to the Egyptian leadership in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.