Sheikh Khalifa visits Cairo; construction on new city to begin
CAIRO: Of all the countries in the region and the rest of the world taking a newfound interest in Egypt as a port for hefty investments, none has shown greater faith in the country than the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
After talks in Cairo as part of an official three day visit starting Sunday with President Hosni Mubarak, the UAE s president, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered the construction of a complete city in Egypt, to be called Sheikh Khalifa City, as a gift from the UAE president to Egypt as a token of appreciation of the depth of fraternal relations between the two countries, according to Gulf News.
The UAE has become the largest foreign investor in Egypt since Etisalat won Egypt’s third mobile license, according to the Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid.
The news of the construction of a new city came after Mubarak met with Khalifa in Egypt earlier this week to express their shared stance on the Lebanese crisis, in which both presidents expressed their solidarity with the Arab nation against Israel’s attacks.
According to Khalifa, Sheikh Khalifa City is expected to be equipped with all public facilities and amenities, and construction should begin immediately as the UAE president has already ordered the concerned parties and authorities to go ahead and start taking the needed measures and actions to begin.
The UAE is considered one of the most important Arab investors in Egypt. Emirati investments in the country include 105 projects, of which 92 projects are in Egypt and 13 in the free zones, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After the visit of Mubarak to the UAE earlier this year, followed by a caravan led by the Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, in which the minister, along with the chairman of the General Authority of Investments and Free Zones (GAFI), proceeded to promote Egyptian investment opportunities to the UAE, bilateral relations have gone from strong point to strong point.
During the caravan, at a meeting between the minister and the chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Sheikh Ahmed Ben Zayed stated that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has invested a total of $400 million in Egypt, primarily allocated in sectors such as telecommunications, cement, agriculture and finance.
In addition, earlier this month Egypt and Dubai’s capital markets inked a deal whereby both would hold joint listings on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (CASE) and the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX). Through the agreement, the two stock exchanges plan to improve the markets, increase trade and support procedures for joint listings.
A memorandum of understanding will also be signed between the Egyptian Capital Market Authority and the Dubai International Financial Center Authority to increase cooperation in supervising and improving capital markets.
During Khalifa’s visit, the president met UAE students at Egyptian universities and urged them to redouble their efforts to excel in their studies. He also urged them to exhibit the high values of their society and told them that they should be seen as good ambassadors of their country, according to Gulf News.
The expectations of your country are high. You are expected to excel in your studies because your country expects much from you, he was quoted as saying. Throughout the sheikh’s visit, the two leaders called for an immediate ceasefire and intervention by the UN Security Council and major countries to put an end to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon. They also stressed the importance of respecting Iraq s unity, sovereignty and independence.
The talks also led to a renewal of their support for the Palestinian people and their right to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The importance of security and stability in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf and making the region free of weapons of mass destruction were also stressed.
