Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir and Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell witnessed the signing of a joint manufacturing agreement between MCV, an Egyptian bus maker, and Volvo, a Swedish automotive giant, to produce electric buses in Egypt for export to the European market. The agreement stipulates that the buses will have a local component of 50%. Samir said that the agreement aims to enhance the cooperation between the Egyptian and Swedish companies, and to boost the transportation industries in Egypt, especially the environmentally friendly electric buses. He also said that the agreement is a result of the visit that he and a ministry delegation made to Stockholm in March 2023, where they met with several Swedish companies, including Volvo, and invited them to invest in the Egyptian market. Samir highlighted the Egyptian government's keenness to increase economic cooperation with Sweden and to foster more joint investment and industrial projects. He also pointed out that the ministry pays great attention to the manufacture of electric vehicles and mass transportation means, in order to meet the needs of the Egyptian consumers and to comply with the global trends towards finding eco-friendly vehicles. He added that Egypt has many capabilities to localise the automobile and electric bus industry that can serve the local market and export to the regional and African markets. Forssell said that the business forum that was held in Stockholm in March 2023 contributed to strengthening the industrial and investment cooperation between the two countries and building on the existing relations in areas of innovation, small projects and energy, taking into account the environmental factors and sustainability goals.
