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Automotive Industry in Egypt Egypt's News th 28 of October , 2013 3 Pages 1. Egypt expects more Gulf Aid following package with UAE: El-Beblawi The UAE announced through its official news agency WAM on Saturday the aid package which aims to support the North African developmental programme and includes a $1bn deposit has been transferred to Egypt’s Central Bank last July. The generous $4.9bn aid package recently sealed between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates will most likely be followed by similar gestures from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi said in a press conference in Abu Dhabi, concluding his three-day visit to the Gulf country. The UAE announced through its official news agency WAM on Saturday the aid package which aims to support the North African developmental programme and includes a $1bn deposit has been transferred to Egypt’s Central Bank last July. The package also includes more than $1bn worth of petroleum products, which is directed to meet domestic demands, WAM said. Al-Borsa published the details of the development projects included in an agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which was signed on Saturday and is worth $4.9bn. Contained in these projects are plans to build 25 silos, which are to store up to 60 tonnes of wheat and grain, each. This project would contribute to the protection of crops and limit the possibility of spoiling in order to increase food security. Also included in these projects are plans for 79 basic health care units (family medicine) in areas that currently lack access to these services as a way to broaden the scope of health care services for the Egyptian people. That is in addition to the establishment of two locations for the production of vaccines, which will increase self-sufficiency to 80% in this vital field. The establishment of 50,000 residential units with infrastructure and services was also included; their building would be in stages. The construction of 13,000 units has already begun in 6 October City. Electrical services from renewable energy projects will also be provided to a group of villages, zones, and neighbourhoods that are not connected to the power grid, in order to contribute to the revival of the countryside and provide basic services to remote areas. Further, the sewer system will be expanded in a group of villages to limit the spread of disease and secure a healthy living environment. In the education sector, 100 public and trade schools are to be built and will be distributed across the Egypt to lower the illiteracy rate, relieve the pressure on the current schools and prepare the next generation for work in the future job market. The projects also include construction of 479 railroad crossings (barriers) to prevent the repetition of tragic accidents that are a result of losing these barriers. Source of Information: www.thedailynewsegypt.com ----------------------------------- Egypt's news -------------------------------------- Aid for buildings and services at Al-Azhar University and the Egyptian Orthodox Church are also included in the agreement, as is the provision of 600 buses to improve public transportation. On this occasion, the Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi was quoted saying: “In the name of the Egyptian People, we give many thanks to the leadership, government, and people of the United Arab Emirates for standing by Egypt’s side and supporting the hopes and aspirations of its people. The special relationship between the brotherly counties goes back more than four decades and will continue to develop and flourish in the framework of friendship and respect for the interests of both nations.” He added: “I would like to point out here that the signing of this agreement is merely to bestow official recognition to already existing cooperation during the last few months, in which work continued between councils and parties from both sides. Execution for a number of these projects has already begun and an announcement of the beginning of what remains will follow in upcoming months.” He concluded with: “The launch of this work prior to the signing of the agreement is evidence of the secure links that tie Egypt to its brothers and sisters in the Emirates. Likewise, I wish to affirm here, the continued effort of the Egyptian government to secure the needs of the Egyptian people. We will, with God’s Permission and our brothers and sisters’ help, be able to remain loyal to our commitments.” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Cooperation Dr Ziad Ahmed Bahaa El-Din was quoted saying: “We have exerted great effort for the last two months to work with our brothers and sisters in the UAE, who have concentrated on reaching a list of necessary projects to be executed to improve the conditions of the largest swath possible of the people, as fast as possible. I want to praise the great professionalism that we saw from the Emirati side, which never hesitated to provide the sought aid. We thank our brothers and sisters in the UAE for standing with us and we affirm the commitment of the Egyptian government to raise the level of services and to execute more development projects across the Republic.” Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jabr said: “Building on the instructions of the wise leadership of the UAE, we studied all possible paths to provide aid that would immediately achieve benefits for all levels of Egyptian society in order to revive the Egyptian economy and guide it towards sustainable development. This is not strange for the continued brotherly relations between both governments and both peoples that go back over forty years since Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God forgive him and rest his soul, laid the foundation, based on trust, transparency, friendship, love, and shared respect that continues today in the shadow of the instructions of our wise leadership.” He confirmed that the signing of the agreement reflects the UAE’s commitment to provide all facets of aid to the Egyptian people to help them transcend the current transitional period and to achieve stability, security, and assurance. This, he said, comes from the UAE’s belief in the importance of Egypt’s return to its pivotal role in the Arab world. Source of Information: www.thedailynewsegypt.com ----------------------------------- Egypt's news -------------------------------------- 2. Custom fees on European cars will reduced to zero by 2019 A gradual reduction of custom fees on cars that were manufactured in Europe and exported to Egypt would reach zero by 2019, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade. Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour met with Finance Minister Ahmed Galal, along with producers, manufacturers and companies operating in the automotive industry sector of the Egyptian market to devise a new strategy for developing the automobile industry. Abdel Nour said that the reduction of custom duties can be implemented according to an Egyptian-European convention; this “requires from us a great work to establish a strong automobile industry, increase our competitiveness, develop our production and increase the exports in the next phase.” He said that Egypt currently has huge manufacturing capabilities and a large base of engineers and labourers who should work to upgrade their technical abilities. Abdel Nour also announced that the government is aiming to support local industry: it has been decided that more than 600 domestically produced buses would be provided to the Public Transport Authority. They would be manufactured by factories operating in the Egyptian market rather than imported, “especially that those buses have an efficient and high quality and competitive prices compared to their imported counterparts,” he added. The minister pointed out that Cairo governorate contracted to buy 200 buses from a local company, noting that a number of Arab and European countries are importing the Egyptian buses which they consider efficient. Abdel Nour said that the car market is attractive to global investors, and there are global automotive companies currently seeking investments in the Egyptian market, according to the statement. Galal stressed that this is a good opportunity to develop new mechanisms and generate an automotive industry that is able to compete in the local and international markets, pointing to the need to develop specific incentive programs for a number of years aimed at increasing production, exports and achieving a positive return on the economy. Abdel Nour previously called on Japanese car companies to increase their investments in Egypt to achieve the government’s vision of developing automobile manufacturing, and expressed the government’s keenness to provide the proper climate to attract Japanese investors to benefit from their expertise. Source of Information: www.thedailynewsegypt.com ----------------------------------- Egypt's news -------------------------------------- Thai Trade Center, Cairo Attia Habib .
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