Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid met executives from France’s Salins Group at the ministry’s headquarters in Cairo to discuss the company’s plans to expand its business in Egypt.
Farid met Benjamin Duchesne, general manager of Marine Salt Trading Cie, a Salins Group subsidiary, and export manager Gaëlle Doussard, in the presence of Christelle Labernède, head of Business France’s office in Egypt, according to a statement from the ministry.
The meeting followed up on investment leads from Farid’s visit to France at the end of September, when he opened the Egyptian-French Business Forum 2026 at the Luxembourg Palace, seat of the French Senate in Paris. About 200 Egyptian and French companies and institutions took part in the forum.
Duchesne said Salins, founded in 1856, produces sea salt, vacuum salt and rock salt and employs about 2,200 people at industrial sites in several European and African countries. He said the group wanted to keep developing its activities in Egypt as part of its strategy for growth and expansion.
The group produces about 4.5mn tonnes a year, of which 3mn tonnes is salt, he said. Revenue reached about $550mn in 2025 and is expected to exceed $600mn.
Salins plans to draw on its technical expertise in studying a new project in Egypt, developing production and processing to serve a range of industries, Duchesne said. The group uses all three main methods of making salt: solar evaporation, thermal processing and mining. Its products supply the food, chemicals, agriculture and water treatment sectors.
Farid said the ministry aimed to attract quality investment that deepens local manufacturing and raises exports, and would co-ordinate with other government bodies to ease investment requirements and help projects in the sector succeed.
He said Egypt wanted to benefit from international expertise and advanced technology to raise efficiency and product quality, and favoured investors who adopt strong environmental practices. Modern technology, careful use of water and compliance with environmental standards were essential to new industrial investment, he said.
