Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum agreed to participate in the international conference on petroleum and natural gas to be held in India this coming November. Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmy received an invitation from his Indian counterpart Murli Deora, stressing the importance of the participation of Egypt and its African neighbors in this event. An exhibition will be held on the sidelines of the conference with major oil companies in Africa participating. "India's invitation falls within the framework of establishing new partnership strategies between Africa and India in different economic and petroleum domains, Fahmy said. "India-Africa for Petroleum and Natural Gas will take place November 6-7, 2007 in New Delhi. The conference is expected to draw international attention due to the array of energy issues currently making headlines in the global arena. Petroleum and gas play a major role in the development of African countries and can contribute greatly to their respective economies. In his invitation, Deora said that Egypt's participation in the conference will reinforce economic partnerships between the two countries in different industries such as oil, gas, and petrochemicals. He also asked the Egyptian petroleum minister to deliver the opening address at the inauguration of the conference. "Egypt is highly interested in attending this conference cooperation with India has numerous potential benefits in all domains, not just oil and gas, the ministry's office told Daily News Egypt. Egyptian-Indian relations have strengthened over the past several years. Indian companies have increased their participation in oil and gas exploration and production in Egypt. Several Indian companies participated in the international bids organized by Egypt and succeeded in acquiring two exploration sites in the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Desert, with investments amounting to $470 million. India has also cooperated with Egypt in the petrochemicals domain through their $70 million investment in an acrylic project. Egypt's current interest in India also has to do with the nation's new business process outsourcing (BPO) strategy. In a recent report by Yankee Group published in British IT Week magazine, Egypt was described as a "nation well-placed as the next hot spot for IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO). India is the largest outsourcing country in the world, providing Europe and the US with a multi-lingual workforce. Egypt is looking to become the outsourcing hub of the Middle East and has sent a high-level delegation to India to establish an outsourcing partnership through sub-sourcing and support centers. "The ministry of petroleum recognizes these strategies and is working to reinforce them through establishing solid relations [with India] within the petroleum sector, the ministry's office said.
