Egypt signs agreement to establish new Polish industrial zone in Ain Sokhna

CAIRO – 9 June 2021: The Suez Canal Economic Zone has signed a framework agreement with its Polish counterpart, the Katowice Zone, to establish a Polish industrial zone in Ain Sokhna, in the economic zone.

The signing of the agreement aims to establish a Polish economic zone in Ain Sokhna, with an area of ​​400,000 to 1 million square meters, targeting food industries, electronic industries and auto spare parts.

A Polish delegation comprising 18 companies is visiting Egypt to inspect the industrial zone in Ain Sokhna and see what suits them of industries targeted to be established in the Polish area in Sokhna.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Nevein Gamea, said that the project of the Polish industrial zone in Egypt will become the first industrial zone for a country from the European Union in Egypt, as it will contribute to opening new horizons for inter-trade and joint investments between the two countries and the transfer of large Polish industrial expertise to the national industry in the of information technology, machinery and equipment, railways, transportation and communications.

“It is an important step to support and develop the economic relations between Egypt and Poland to distinct levels that reflect the strength and durability of the Egyptian-Polish bilateral relations at all levels and at various levels,” Gamea added.

She pointed out that the Ain Sokhna region is the heart of the economic zone of the Suez Canal and enjoys a unique strategic location regionally and globally that allows Egyptian products free access to a large number of global markets with which Egypt has free trade agreements, as the region represents a strong window to these markets, especially the markets of the Arab countries and the countries of the African continent.

The minister added that a number of future cooperation initiatives between Egypt and Poland are currently being discussed, including the fields of fisheries, converting vehicles to work with natural gas, and cooperation between the Cairo and Warsaw Stock Exchanges and translating them into concrete cooperation projects that serve the interest of the Egyptian and Polish economies alike.

She said that the great development witnessed by the trade exchange movement between the two countries in recent years contributed to the doubling of the total volume of trade between the two countries to reach about 672 million dollars during 2019.

According to the minister, despite the repercussions of the Corona crisis, the industrial sector achieved during 2019/2020 a growth rate of 6.3 percent, and the increase in public investments implemented in the manufacturing sector reached 7 times what it was six years ago, as it recorded LE 49 billion in 2019/2020, compared to about LE 6.1 billion in 2013/2014.

For his part, Engineer Yahya Zaki said that the establishment of a Polish industrial community for the first time outside Poland within the Suez Canal Economic Zone is an addition to the region and the existing projects, looking forward to more Polish investments in the region.

Zaki added that the zone provides all support to investors and developers in the region and works to fulfill its obligations, facilitate all difficulties and provide all capabilities for investor satisfaction and provide an investment-attractive work environment, which was reflected in the issuance of some amendments to the executive regulations of the zone and the issuance of import and export rules and customs guide