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Government meets foreign pharmaceutical company representatives to overcome medicine shortage Companies demand government's support in wake of higher production costs after pound's flotation
Through a series of meetings with representatives of pharmaceutical companies, foreign enterprises in particular, the government is seeking to overcome the medicine shortage due to the increase in production rates following the decision to liberalise the exchange rate. Local and foreign pharmaceutical factories working in the Egyptian market depend on imports to secure 50% of production needs, and with the decline of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar, production costs have jumped by 50%-60%. Mohamed Khodeir, head of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), met with representatives of PhRMA and Nibal Dahaba, representative of Abbvie, in the hopes of overcoming the shortage as well as supporting the pharmaceutical industry. Minister of Industry Tarek Kabil met with representatives of these companies on Sunday and promised to look into their requests for overcoming the crisis. Health Minister Ahmed Emad also met with representatives; however, with the crisis still ongoing it is yet to be seen as to whether these actions will amount to anything. Khodeir said that the authority is working to support all investors in Egypt, remove the obstacles they encounter, and solve their problems. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Investment, the meeting looked into the obstacles for pharmaceutical companies in Egypt and Khodeir expressed his understanding of the problems. Khodeir said he is committed to efforts to support investors working with this strategic good. He also promised to take the necessary measures with the concerned authorities so as to overcome the obstacles and maintain the stability of the pharmaceuticals market in Egypt, as well as to encourage investors and investment.
