A gradual reduction of custom fees on cars that were manufactured in Europe and exported to Egypt would reach zero by 2019, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade. Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour met with Finance Minister Ahmed Galal, along with producers, manufacturers and companies operating in the automotive industry sector of the Egyptian market to devise a new strategy for developing the automobile industry. Abdel Nour said that the reduction of custom duties can be implemented according to an Egyptian-European convention; this "requires from us a great work to establish a strong automobile industry, increase our competitiveness, develop our production and increase the exports in the next phase." He said that Egypt currently has huge manufacturing capabilities and a large base of engineers and labourers who should work to upgrade their technical abilities. Abdel Nour also announced that the government is aiming to support local industry: it has been decided that more than 600 domestically produced buses would be provided to the Public Transport Authority. They would be manufactured by factories operating in the Egyptian market rather than imported, "especially that those buses have an efficient and high quality and competitive prices compared to their imported counterparts," he added. The minister pointed out that Cairo governorate contracted to buy 200 buses from a local company, noting that a number of Arab and European countries are importing the Egyptian buses which they consider efficient. Abdel Nour said that the car market is attractive to global investors, and there are global automotive companies currently seeking investments in the Egyptian market, according to the statement. Galal stressed that this is a good opportunity to develop new mechanisms and generate an automotive industry that is able to compete in the local and international markets, pointing to the need to develop specific incentive programs for a number of years aimed at increasing production, exports and achieving a positive return on the economy. Abdel Nour previously called on Japanese car companies to increase their investments in Egypt to achieve the government's vision of developing automobile manufacturing, and expressed the government's keenness to provide the proper climate to attract Japanese investors to benefit from their expertise.
