Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting on Monday with members of the board of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), as well as several industrial chamber heads, factory officials, and company representatives from various sectors. The meeting was held in the presence of Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, Mohamed Zaki El Sewedy, FEI Chairperson, and Tarek Tawfik, FEI Deputy Chairperson. Madbouly stated that the meeting is a prelude to a series of meetings and discussions in the coming period with various chambers to discuss and review proposals and recommendations that will contribute to achieving the objectives of localizing and deepening the industry. The Egyptian Prime Minister explained that Egypt and other countries are experiencing crises that have taught a very important lesson: "The more we can localize the industry, the more we can alleviate the huge pressures we are facing." Madbouly pointed out the measures and steps being taken during the current period to support and localize the industrial sector, as well as working to deepen it and increase the percentage of local components in its various sectors. He reiterated the government's continued provision of more facilitations and incentives to support this important sector, considering it the engine of the Egyptian economy. He also stated that about 152 industries need to be localized, saying: "We are ready to provide more incentives and facilitations as needed." The Prime Minister indicated that the purpose of holding these meetings and discussions is to set targets for the specific industries that need localization, stressing the importance of providing various possible incentives and meeting the necessary requirements, provided that the required targets are achieved. During the meeting, Shaker referred to the significant development in the electricity and energy sector, especially in the field of new and renewable energy. He noted the increasing demand related to the industries associated with this sector, as well as what is related to green hydrogen. He also referred to the industries associated with the electricity meter production sector, and what concerns control centers for distribution networks and other aspects related to the electricity sector. Meanwhile, Samir cited the efforts being made to support this sector and to provide the required production requirements for it, which contributes to increasing the volume of exports from this sector and localizing various industries. He pointed out that in this regard, the localization and deepening of the electricity, water, and gas meters industry is important. El Sewedy pointed out that crises always generate opportunities, noting the government's efforts to deal with many challenges and crises during the current periods and work to solve those challenges, saying: "We will work together to overcome these crises." He also praised the incentives and facilitations that were approved in the past period, as well as what the government intends to issue in terms of facilitations and other incentives for the industrial sector. In this regard, he called for a declared plan by the concerned ministries for their needs, so that the various factories begin providing these products according to these plans, as happened with the coordination in the Presidential Initiative "Decent Life." During the meeting, Tawfik referred to the government's dealing with a number of issues that represent the utmost importance for the industrial sector, including the provision of lands, as well as what concerns the golden license and other files related to this sector. He clarified that these files were constantly under discussion, and therefore we will work together to overcome the various obstacles. Tawfik pointed out the importance of having a clear and declared financial and monetary policy, as well as transparency for various state projects, which contributes to building trust for the private sector, to achieve the objectives of deepening and localizing the industry and expanding the size of private sector investments. In the meantime, the members of the Federation of Egyptian Industries board indicated that recognizing the challenges facing the industrial sector is important, which requires a roadmap for dealing with these challenges and gives more reassurance to the Egyptian industrial investor, who will, in turn, be an incentive for foreign investors to come and invest. They also emphasized the importance of the feeder industries file and its role in advancing the industrial sector in general. They also reviewed a number of proposals related to deepening and localizing the industry, indicating their expansion plans during the coming period, and clarified that Egypt enjoys great and promising opportunities in the field of exports, especially to neighbouring countries, confirming that the factories are ready for that. At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister called for a working paper to be presented, including the various demands of the manufacturers that were reviewed during the meeting. Madbouly noted the government's readiness to study and respond to them, which contributes to achieving the state's objectives of localizing and deepening the industry. He also stressed the need for government agencies to commit to implementing the law of preference for local products, which contributes to supporting various national industries.
