EU ‘strategic partner to Egypt’ – IDA

CAIRO – 9 November 2017: Chairman of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Ahmed Abdel Razek on Wednesday said that the European Union is a key supporter to Egypt’s reform strategy in order to achieve goals of a sustainable development plan.

The official made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the conference on the EU's External Investment Plan (EIP).

The conference was attended by Assistant Foreign Minister Saed Hondam and Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt.

Under the EIP it is expected that the EU will mobilize a contribution of €4.1 billion that will leverage up to €44 billion of investments from public and private sector from 2017 to 2020.

Speaking to the press, Abdel Razek said third of Egypt’s trade movement in 2016 was going between Cairo and the EU countries.

In this year, he says, EU-Egypt trade has more than doubled from €11.8 billion in 2004 up to €27.3 billion.

A strategy is in place to increase industry sector's share in the GDP, the official noted. The sectors’ GDP share increased to 17 percent in 2016, he said.