The two sides tackled the progress rate of joint cooperation projects between the ministry and the UAE company as regards manufacturing of bi-fuel pickup cars, Morsi said.

He added that a 22,000-square-metre-sized factory named the Egyptian Emirates Company for the Automotive Industry (under the acronym ‘EM’) will be set up to manufacture cars that operate on both natural gas and gasoline.

Actual production will start in the second half of 2023, he added.

He added that cooperation with the UAE company comes as part of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's directives to expand in the use of natural gas as a fuel for cars to boost State's strategy for sustainable development.

Azazi said partnership with the Egyptian side seeks to secure needs of local and African markets in the bi-fuel pickup cars domain.

Under the agreement, bi-fuel pickup vehicles will be manufactured under the name "EM" with an estimated production capacity of 12,000 cars per year, she added.

She added that such a cooperation will contribute to producing more eco-friendly cars, lauding the role played by the Military Production Ministry in stimulating investments in Egypt.