Egypt and France's trade exchange was equivalent to approximately $2.6m in 2014, according to a Ministry of International Cooperation statement. The volume of France's investments in Egypt on the other hand stands at about €7bn. These statistics were reviewed during a meeting held in Cairo between Minister of International Cooperation Nagla Al-Ahwani, and a delegation of about 30 French companies' representatives. Also in attendance was MEDEF International, a French organisation that helps French companies succeed as they expand globally. During the meeting, Al-Ahwani reviewed the economic and community reforms being undertaken by the Egyptian government, and the plan for attracting foreign investments into the country. Priority was also given to the current required projects, in the fields of energy, transportation, petroleum, and communications, amongst others. In May 2015, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb visited France at the head of a high-level ministerial delegation upon the invitation of French President Francois Hollande. The purpose of Mehleb's visit to France was to discuss cooperation between Egypt and France. The visit included meetings with major French companies and investors, scheduled to tackle economic issues. The Egyptian ministers also held joint sessions of bilateral talks with their French counterparts. During the visit, a joint declaration for the development of the Alexandria tram was signed. An executive agreement was also signed for the development of the third phase of the industrial pollution control project. Egypt has strong economic ties with the French government and the French Agency for Development (AFD), as they have aided Egypt in a number of projects. AFD has supported projects in Egypt with approximately €800m, €796 of which were in the form of loans, while €4.7m were in grants. Furthermore, in December 2014, Al-Ahwani signed a €7.15m agreement with the French Ambassador to Egypt Andre Baran to fund replacing navigation systems at Taba International Airport. The €7.15m is a loan from the French treasury, and is scheduled to be repaid in 20 years, with a six year grace period and 0.17% interest.
