Mohamed El-Assar, the minister of military production, said that the ministry is seeking to meet the needs of the armed forces in some projects, as the threats currently present in the region and instability surrounding Egypt at the regional and international levels may continue.
He told Daily News Egypt that Egypt is capable of producing its weapons independently and could cooperate with foreign countries to establish factories to manufacture weapons, as well as develop them in order to manufacture 100% Egyptian-made weapons.
Furthermore, he said that the ministry’s participation in the ongoing national projects does not distract it from its main and basic tasks with respect to the military’s production of products of the armed forces. He stressed that military products of the armed forces are the ministry’s primary role.
Moreover, he pointed out that all military production projects in the current year are aimed at the welfare and service of the youth and the national economy, as well as export development and the reduction of imports.
In addition, he referred to the project of water saving faucets which were afforded to all bodies and houses, stressing that the faucets provided are currently available in the market at a price of EGP 40.
The ministry of military production launched three guidance and awareness issues within the water conservation campaign: ‘Water Saver, Water Catalogue and the Extension Video’, within the framework of the expanded campaign between the ministries of endowments, military production, water resources and irrigation to ration the use of water.
Al-Assar stressed that the factories and military production companies pay all their financial obligations such as taxes, customs, insurance, water and electricity in order not to be a burden on the state, but an added value in both military and civil production.
Furthermore, the ministry of military production and its subsidiaries increased revenues in the fiscal year 2017/18 by 30% over the previous year to reach EGP 11.6bn compared to the previous year of EGP 8.9bn.
He added that the ministry’s participation in the new waste system will be based on scientific perspectives, and will not be limited to the ministry’s factories but will include the private sector and foreign companies.
Likewise, he declared that the military production aims to increase cooperation with the private sector for economic integration, which is in the interest of the Egyptian economy, and that the ministry does not seek to dominate the market and perceives genuine honest competition.
Al-Assar said that the vision of military production is to be an advanced industrial institution that is keen to provide added value in the state’s 2030 strategy.
