Indonesia’s Multistrada, Nabati to open factories in Egypt: Ambassador

BANTEN- Indonesia- 3 November 2018: Indonesian Multistrada and Nabati companies are negotiating to open new factories in Egypt, Indonesian Ambassador to Cairo Helmay Fawzy told Egyptian reporters on the sidelines of the 33rd Indonesia Trade Expo 2018.

Indonesia’s state-owned Multistrada Company asked to reopen negotiations with the Chemical Industries Holding Company (CIHC) to have a tire factory in Egypt, the ambassador said. The negotiations were suspended due to issues related to the current employees of the CIHC, he continued, noting that the government of Indonesia will contact the Egyptian Minister of Investment Sahr Nasr concerning this issue.

As for Indonesian Nabati Company, the ambassador said that an agreement will be signed soon with the Egyptian private sector to open a biscuits factory in Egypt, saying “There was also a problem with [obtaining] a license. It takes quite some time. […] And I think it will be very soon because they got the green light from the Egyptian government.”

The ambassador added that Minister of Trade of Indonesia Enggartiasto Lukita will visit Egypt in November, saying “In this regards, he (Lukita] can discuss a number of trade issues between Indonesia and Egypt, particularly a PTA agreement,” he added.

Minister of Trade and Industry Lukita can speed up this process and conclude the formation of the joint trade commission, the ambassador said.

As for the expected visit of the Indonesian president to Egypt, ambassador fawzy said that president can visit Cairo after the general elections due on April 17, 2019.

“There was a plan of a visit from the president of Indonesia to Egypt but now it is time for elections […] I am sure that once he [President Joko Widodo] is re-elected, the first country that the president will visit in the Middle East is Egypt.”

On the sidelines of the 33rd Trade Expo Indonesia (TEI) 2018 at the Indonesian Convention Exhibition in BSD City in Banten on Wednesday, Oct. 24, six Egyptian businessmen were granted the Primaduta Award, which is an Indonesian program that aims to increase the growth of Indonesian exports worldwide.

“Six awards to Egyptian businessmen again is a kind of appreciation from the president (President of Indonesia Joko Widodo) to Egyptian businessmen for their constant cooperation with Indonesia,” Fawzy said.

The Egyptian businessmen are working on exporting the Indonesian products to African countries, he added.

He continued that the portfolio of the contracts signed at the 2018 expo will reach $75 million by the end of the expo.

Six Egyptian companies signed a number of agreements, worth $67.5 million, with Indonesian governmental and private companies to import food and beverage products and tires this year.