Egypt's Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir met with Belarus Ambassador to Egypt Sergei Terentiev in Cairo to discuss joint cooperation in various fields of transport. The meeting was attended by executives of the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport and the Holding company for Roads, Bridges and Land Transportation projects. El-Wazir welcomed the Belarusian ambassador and praised the depth of relations between the two countries. Terentiev expressed his happiness with the visit to the New Administrative Capital, which he said reflects the great development that Egypt witnesses in various fields, including the transportation sector. The two sides discussed several projects that could enhance their joint cooperation in the transport sector. These include: * Developing the workshops of the two holding companies by providing them with modern equipment and improving the efficiency, rehabilitation and maintenance of their fleet of trucks. * Building a factory in Borg El Arab in Alexandria to manufacture cargo trucks in cooperation with Belarusian companies. * Manufacturing electric buses in Egypt, either through partnerships with local Egyptian companies such as MCV, Kastur, Ghabbour, and others, or through direct cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Transport to establish a joint factory in Borg El Arab Industrial Zone in Alexandria. * Establishing a grain center in one of the Egyptian ports (east of Port Said, Dekheila, or Jarjoub) to meet the needs of the local market and export to African countries, especially that Egypt is considered the main gateway for exporting products to Africa. El-Wazir said that the Ministry of Transport is implementing the presidential directives to localize the bus industry in Egypt, as well as to cooperate with private sector companies to develop and modernize the passenger transport fleet for all affiliated companies. He added that all Egyptian ministries adopt the approach of limiting imports from abroad, including the Ministry of Transport. He explained that this approach contributes to saving hard currency, encouraging local production, generating jobs for young people, meeting the needs of the local market and expanding the export sector to make Egypt a major industrial base for the production of all types of buses.
