Berlin –A delegation from the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) started a three-day visit to the German capital, Berlin, on Monday.
The delegation aims to review possible means of cooperation across different areas to support Egyptian industry and attract more German investments to the country.
It includes FEI Head Mohamed El-Sewedy, FEI’s Vice Chairperson Tarek Tawfik, Chairperson of the Investment Committee FEI Mahmoud Suleiman, Members of the Board of Directors Mohammad Ashour and Ahmad Fikri Abdul Wahab, Chairperson of the Board for sons of Farid Hussain company Hossam Farid Hassanen, Chairperson of the Egyptian-German Business Council Nader Riad, President of the German – Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce Emad Ghaly, and Chief Executive Officer of the German – Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce Jan Noether.
The delegation began its first visit on Monday to the headquarters of the German company Siemens, specialised in the production of turbines, to get acquainted with the latest technological developments, and how to support the Egyptian electricity and energy market through the implementation of projects. The visit also discussed the possibility of cooperation in new projects in the energy field.
German company officials reviewed their projects in Egypt, explaining that the company has pumped about €10bn in technology for the past 10 years.
Guido Ederer , project management and strategy head at Siemens AG Power & Gas division, gave a detailed explanation on the company’s activities and plans, “Egypt is an important partner for the company, and the coming period will witness further cooperation with the Egyptian market.”
The delegation aims to promote the investment climate in Egypt to offer investment opportunities in new sectors which haven’t receive sufficient attention from foreign investors.
Head of the delegation, El-Sewedy, said that the visit comes within a round of visits targeted by the FEI during the current and future period, in order to support cooperation in the industrial field between Egypt and a number of countries. It also aims to seek partnerships in sectors needed by the Egyptian industry, such as technology, training and technical education, and the field of issuing accreditation certificates to factories.
Officials of the delegation were keen on meeting representatives of the German Technical Inspection Association, specialised in the field of quality certification and training, where all members of the delegation stressed the need to find a formula for cooperation between the two sides during the coming period, given the importance and role of the quality certification system in the industrial sector.
El-Sewedy told the association’s officials that the Egyptian laws, including the Investment Law and the Industrial Licensing Law, opened the way for the private sector to establish offices for accreditation and issuing quality certificates. He noted that the Egyptian market has a huge potential for companies to put more investments in Egypt and establish labs for industrial tests, where about 17,000 certificates of conformity are issued annually.
Tawfik pointed out that there is a big gap between university graduates and industry needs, which creates a good opportunity for companies working in the technical training sector to enter the Egyptian market through the establishment of offices that provide technical training services and the issuance of accreditation certificates.
On that note, Soliman stressed that the current moment is “historic” in the Egyptian market for companies working in the field of certification and accreditation due to the issuance of new laws that have opened the door for the private sector to invest in these types of projects.
Hence, members of the delegation are looking to invite members of the association to form a team to visit Egypt in the coming weeks to identify the needs of different sectors in this area, and then discuss the possibility of signing a protocol between the two sides in the coming period.
Shaimaa Bahaa El-Din, Director of International Affairs & Development partners’ relations at the FEI, said that there are specialised technology centres in most of the Egyptian industries affiliated to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Accordingly, Noether suggested the cooperation protocol between the FEI and the German association to be finalised and signed during the visit of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi scheduled for the second half of November.
He noted that Egypt has gained great importance to the German government over the past two years, after German investors were focused on the Asian market, adding that the total trade volume with Africa accounted for 1.8% of Germany’s total trade with the world. This stresses the need to intensify moves to increase this percentage through deeper cooperation with Egypt in the coming period.
The delegation concluded the first day with a visit to the smart city Euref, which includes a number of green projects.
