UK Trade Envoy to Egypt Jeffrey Donaldson arrived in Cairo on Saturday, accompanied by representatives of various British companies, aiming to explore new investment opportunties in Egypt, the British embassy in Cairo said in a statement. The delegation is looking to make investments in the key sectors of infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare and defence. Fourteen companies are represented by the delegation, including London International Patient Services, Rolls Royce and Bombardier, with 70 percent of those involved being new investors in Egypt. The embassy statement quoted British Ambassador to Cairo John Casson as saying, "It's an exciting time to be welcoming a new generation of British companies that are looking for business opportunities here." The delegation is due to attend several meetings with Egyptian officials, including Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Mohab Mameesh, and the ministers of investment, housing, trade, transport and petroleum. The British delegation is also expected to visit the new administrative capital and meet with the project's chairman Ayman Ismail. "The recent reforms that have been implemented have brought about stronger economic growth in Egypt and this has heightened the interest of British companies in doing business with Egypt," said Donaldson. As part of its plan to improve the investment environment, Egypt has been implementing an economic reform programme to close budget deficits and streamline investment laws. Last November, the government floated the Egyptian pound to push its value closer to real market level. This visit by the UK business delegation was announced earlier this month. In August, UK minister for the Middle East Alastair Burt visited Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials on British-Egyptian cooperation and UK support for Egypt, especially in economic and educational reform. The UK is Egypt's number-one foreign investor, with $43 billion of inflows and over 1,450 British businesses active. It is also a major investor in Egypt's oil and gas sector, the statement says. The British embassy said that British investment in Egypt has been growing recently, citing several examples. The British manufacturer SEWS opened a new factory in Egypt in August, while the British telecommunications company Vodafone has allocated EGP 2 billion to expansion in Egypt this year.
