During his last visit to France, Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour met with a number of French investing companies to discuss their future projects in the Egyptian economy, a statement issued by the ministry said. The minister met with representatives from BEL Group, a company involved in the food industry, manufacturer of small domestic appliances and cookware SEB, automobile manufacturing company Renault Nissan, building material company Lafarge and designer and producer of electronic systems Thales. Abdel Nour also met with representatives from Mecatherm, a manufacturer of ovens, machines and automatic production line for industrial bakeries, to discuss possible benefits of the French experience in the field of establishing bakeries with automatic systems. During his visit, the minister stated that French companies operating in Egypt are operating at a steady pace and have achieved great success while expanding in various fields. He added that the Egyptian government is keen on attracting more French investors and businessmen, stressing that business meetings and joint missions between the two sides play a vital role in strengthening economic and trade relations. According Abdel Nour, the trade volume in 2011 between the two countries amounted to €2.9bn. He added that in 2012 bilateral trade totaled €3bn. Meanwhile, the trade volume between January and November 2013 registered €2.3bn. The minister stated that the trade volume does not reflect the potential opportunities available for both countries. The Egyptian minister also met with senior government officials in France such as the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius, who was assured by Abdel Nour that the Egyptian government fully respects the contracts and agreements between the two parties. Abdel Nour also met with French Minister of Foreign Trade Nicole Bricq to review the future plans of the joint business council. During the meeting, the two officials discussed means of strengthening the trade volume of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). According to Abdel Nour, in his meeting with French Minister of Industrial renewal Arnaud Monteboug, the two parties discussed the possibility of establishing joint venture projects in other countries. Earlier in January, Abdel Nour said that the visit aims to demonstrate to the French business community the government's keenness on bringing back foreign investments.
