By Mohamed Gamal In a continuing effort to promote the agricultural sector, Egyptian officials agreed with Qatari businessmen to explore investment opportunities in the Egyptian agricultural sector. Last Friday, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil held talks with a Qatari delegation headed by Sheikh Nasser Bin Mohammed Al Hajri, CEO of Hassad Food, who expressed interest in investment prospects in the fields of agriculture and livestock in Egypt. The company, which has a history of agricultural and livestock investment in the region, intends to plant cereals on 30,000 acres of arable land, according to Ahmed Darwish, an expert on agricultural investment. Earlier last week, Qandil visited Sudan, where he discussed with the Sudanese vice president, Ali Othman Taha, ways to boost economic cooperation between the two countries. Qandil, accompanied by a delegation comprising of the ministers of foreign affairs, investment, industry and trade, planning and international cooperation, agriculture and transport, along with 20 businessmen, explored the potential of Sudanese farmland in the framework of Egyptian-Sudanese-Qatari cooperation. The meetings between the Egyptian officials and their Sudanese counterparts took up arrangements to plant wheat in the 2,000 acre “El-Alifon” experimental farm for agricultural products. The experimental farms in Sudan are a big success according to Salah Abdel-Momen, minister of agriculture and land cultivation. Thus opening doors for a fruitful cooperation between the two countries. The minister stated that a joint committee of businessmen from both sides was created, it will be meeting in early October decide on the measures to be taken in the process of cultivation of 1,250,000 acres in Sudan. “The government in both countries will facilitate the implementation of the proposed projects”, said Abdel-Momen. The cooperation was supported by the inauguration of a branch of the National Bank of Egypt in Khartoum during the official visit, following directives given by the presidents of Egypt and Sudan after their meeting in Cairo. The newly established branch will finance investments in Sudan with $500 million over a period of three years. The Egyptian agricultural sector contributes some 13.5 per cent of the country's GDP and employs around 30 per cent of the total manpower.
