CAIRO: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid met with his Swedish counterpart Ewa Björling to discuss economic cooperation, the ministry said in a statement to the press. Björling was on a three-day visit to Cairo along with a Swedish business delegation to explore investment and trade opportunities in Egypt. Rachid said that even though Egypt and Sweden have strong ties, more can be done by both sides to strengthen bilateral economic relations. Bilateral trade between Egypt and Sweden reached ?496.6 million in 2007. Egyptian imports from Sweden reached ?476.3 million and exports to Sweden totaled ?20.3 million. Total Swedish investments in Egypt amount to LE 362.2 million. Sweden s Björling specifically highlighted the possibility of establishing an industrial city in Egypt for technological development and small and medium enterprises. The area would be modeled after Sweden s SymbioCity, which was designed to facilitate high-tech industrial and SME growth. The plan is to work with Egyptian counterparts to establish a similar industrial zone on the outskirts of Cairo through the public-private management system. This would involve the transfer of the management model as well as know-how and skills development. At the meeting, Rachid said that while the all countries around the world will be impacted by the economic crisis, Egypt is interested in new opportunities and ideas for industrial and trade development. The government plans to push forward with economic reforms, he said. We know that the economic crisis will have an impact, but in Egypt, we are committed to further reforming our economy and developing the private sector as well as deepening our relationship with traditional as well as new partners, he said. Rachid will visit Sweden in the second quarter of this year. Sweden will hold the presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2009.
