Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr is paying a visit to China to participate in the forum known as "The Belt and Road", which is a part of the Silk Road Initiative, according to a press statement issued on Saturday. The minister is willing to meet businesspeople and investors from China and other countries, because more than 110 countries are participating in the forum. Nasr said in the statement that the bilateral relationship between Egypt and China is very important and precious, especially after signing a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between both countries during the visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in September 2015. It is important to note that the president paid an official visit to China on Tuesday as part of his Asian tour to increase Chinese investments in Egypt. It is anticipated that Al-Sisi's visit will have great impact on the bilateral economic cooperation between Egypt and China. Al-Sisi held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which led to the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement and a cooperation deal that will boost production capacity, state news agency MENA reported. Nasr added that Egypt has to enhance the relation with China in order to attract Chinese investments in the infrastructure, explaining that China has allocated $30bn to improve the infrastructure of the countries located on the Silk Road. The minister, according to the statement, added that she would meet representatives of the biggest Chinese companies to attract more investments, especially in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. She will also show the investors the reforms that Egypt has implemented, especially the new Investment Law, the statement read. However, it is important to mention that the Silk Road is an old trade road that links Asia with Africa and Europe, through 60 countries. From another direction, the ministry has announced that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to provide a loan worth $11m to Egypt Carbon Holdings Company. The loan will be used to improve the standards of manufacturing to meet the standards of the ISO certificate in the Egyptian Company for Hydrocarbon, according to a press statement issued on Friday by the ministry. Nasr said that the loan will be used to establish a pilot project that will open the door for establishing a new factory for producing polypropylene to Egypt and African markets. It is worth mentioning that the bank invested €2.3bn in 43 projects currently under construction. This includes the fields of financing, agriculture, trading, manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation, and sewage. However, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is considering Egypt as a country of operation, which means that the bank will allocate finances for different types of governmental and private sector projects.
