The Egyptian Railway Authority has agreed with the government of Hungary to develop, with the participation of Egyptian companies, Hungarian-manufactured trains to be in service in Egypt by 2020, according to an official statement from Ministry of Transportation. The agreement came during a meeting with Minister of Transportation Ibrahim El-Demairy and Hungarian Ambassador to Cairo Peter Kveck on Sunday to discuss the cooperation between the two countries in the field of transportation. El-Demairy called the conversation over the railway sector "fruitful", adding that Egypt had previously largely relied on trains manufactured by a Hungarian company. The model was locally referred to as "the Hungarian". The Hungarian Express train was one of the most significant projects between the two countries. According to the statement, El-Demairy discussed the possibility of the Hungarian companies cooperating with Egypt in the railway sector, to manufacture train parts within Egypt depending on the availability of local components in the Railway Authority's workshops and infrastructure in Abu Zaabal. The pair also discussed the ability of those companies to cover the needs of Egyptian railways while at the same time exporting to Africa and the Middle East. Both countries agreed to exchange visits to follow up the project and cooperate to increase safety, integrate modern technology, and raise the efficiency of the Egyptian railway network. Egypt and Hungary already cooperate in the fields of vehicle production and construction materials including ceramics, textiles, cosmetics and electric cables. Trade balance is in favour of the Hungarian side, with Nokia mobile phones constituting the highest percentage of Egyptian imports from Hungary, while fruits and vegetables constitute one third of the Egyptian exports, according to figures from the State Information Service. Egypt has a system of 950 kilometre-long railway tracks running nationwide.
