CAIRO: Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid began a two-day visit to the United Kingdom to discuss increasing bilateral cooperation, the ministry said in a statement. During the visit, Rachid will meet with members of the British government and members of the private sector. "The United Kingdom has always been a strategic partner for Egypt, Rachid said in the statement. "The current international economic crisis has impacted the economies of both Egypt and the UK in many ways and now is the best time for both sides to explore opportunities to boost cooperation in light of the new economic reality. Bilateral trade between Egypt and the UK reached £1.53 billion in 2008, with Egyptian exports reaching £617 million and imports from the UK at £909 million, according to figures from the trade ministry. In 2008, Egypt s non-oil exports to UK reached £576 million, and oil exports to UK reached £41 million. Rachid will meet with The Duke of York Prince Andrew, UK's special representative for international trade and investment, and Lord Mandelson, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills. Meetings are also planned with Charles Bland, vice president of British Gas, Ian Gray, CEO of Vodafone, and Tony Hayward, BP Group chief executive. There are 910 British companies investing in Egypt, and as of March 2008, their cumulative investments amounted to LE 17.8 billion in the fields of industry, services, tourism, agriculture, construction, finance, communication and information technology. Vodafone, Global Digital Satellite, Dallas limited, EFC Holding and British Gas are the main investors. An Egypt-UK business forum will be held during Rachid's visit to highlight mutual opportunities for the private sector in both countries. Egypt mainly exports textiles, fruits, nuts, mechanical appliances, fertilizers and vegetables to the UK. It's main imports include chemical products, photographic and cinematographic equipment; medical equipment, vegetables, plastic products, iron and steel as well as organic chemicals. -Daily News Egypt
