The agreement with Egypt to establish a Russian industrial zone will be postponed to early 2018, according to the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.
On the sidelines of the 9th annual BRICS summit held in Beijing, China, in the period from 3 to 5 September, Manturov said that the postponement is due to changes in the agreement.
Manturov added that the signing of the agreement will not be delayed, expecting it to happen by the end of 2017.
From his part, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil said that negotiations with Russian and Dutch investors for the establishment of industrial zones at the Suez Canal area are continuing until now, and negotiations take a long time.
Kabil told Daily News Egypt that the government, represented by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will not grant preferential privileges to an investor at the expense of another investor.
Kabil added that the ministry is currently conducting a new round of negotiations with the Russian side on the establishment of the Russian industrial zone.
Further, the chairperson of Russian-Egyptian Business Council Mikhail Orlov said that the intergovernmental agreement and agreement between the Russian Export Center (REC) and the administration of Port Said will be signed within the framework of the establishment of the Russian industrial zone in Egypt that were previously planned to be signed in autumn 2017 is postponed. This comes as a result of the new circumstances, and he sought the negotiations will be resume soon.
Two years ago, Russia had announced its desire to establish a Russian industrial zone in Egypt on an area of 2 million sqm in preparation of the establishment of the free trade area between the two countries, including food industries, engineering industries, machinery, and equipment industries.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the ceremony of laying of the foundation stone of the Dabaa station, which Russia is establishing in Egypt. This was welcomed by Putin, and the agreement on the date of the visit between the two sides will be set later.
