French train manufacturer Alstom is planning to increase its business and employees amid the "huge" investment opportunities provided by the Egyptian public transport sector, company chairman Henri Poupart-Lafarge told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in a meeting in Cairo on Monday. Lafarge said that Egypt is a gateway to maximising the company's investments in the Arab and African regions given the size of the national projects being implemented across the country. During the meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir, President El-Sisi expressed Egypt's keenness to bolster cooperation with French companies, including Alstom, in the public transport sector, according to a presidential statement. El-Sisi said that Egypt's keenness to cooperate with French companies is part of the country's comprehensive development, adding that it also comes in light of the "distinguished" bilateral ties between Cairo and Paris as well as the "great" expertise that French companies enjoy in all fields. The statement added that President El-Sisi has ordered increasing the shares of local industry and technology in joint activities with the French company as well as establishing training centres for Egyptian experts to benefit from foreign experience. The meeting also tackled cooperation projects between the Egyptian railways and tunnel authorities and Alstom, the statement added. With over 380 employees, Alstom has been present in Egypt for more than 30 years. The company has partnered up with Cairo to provide many services related to trains and infrastructure.
