Amr Abdel Wahab, Chairperson and Managing Director of Egyptian Countryside Development Company, oversees the national project for reclaiming and cultivating 1.5 million feddans. Recently, he welcomed Michele Quaroni, the Italian Ambassador to Egypt, along with Tarek Tawfik, Vice President of the Federation of Egyptian Industries and Board Member of the Egyptian Countryside Development Company. During their meeting, they discussed cooperation and strategies to attract Italian investments to the lands and sectors of the 1.5 Million Feddan project. Their focus included collaboration with major Italian companies in organic farming, infrastructure development, food security, advanced agricultural greenhouses, renewable energy, and water desalination. Abdel Wahab commended the Italian ambassador's interest in exploring investment opportunities for Italian companies and capital within the project. He emphasised that strong coordination and ongoing communication between leading projects in Egypt and Italy would lead to successful partnerships benefiting both nations. The project aims not only to attract new investments but also to achieve sustainable development. The Egyptian Countryside Development Company actively supports investments in agriculture, industry, and services on the 1.5 Million Feddan lands. Egypt's supportive policies create an attractive climate for agricultural investment, benefiting youth, small farmers, and local and foreign investors in newly reclaimed areas. Abdel Wahab highlighted the importance of reflecting the excellent relations between Egypt and Italy in the volume of Italian investments, particularly in agriculture and development. The project also seeks to transfer Italian expertise in agricultural production, support small farmers, and preserve the environment and water resources. As Egypt implements significant projects across various sectors, the company remains committed to attracting Italian development investments. Collaboration with Italian counterparts includes exploring opportunities in water desalination, energy generation, agricultural manufacturing, infrastructure, research exchanges, advanced greenhouses, and livestock-related industries. Addressing global climate challenges, the project emphasizes organic farming, optimal resource utilization, and integrated pest management to reduce fertilizers and pesticides. Abdel Wahab also emphasized the company's desire to cooperate with the Italian side to benefit from Italian expertise in agricultural waste recycling and using this waste to produce biogas. He welcomed intensified negotiations with the Italian side to explore the possibility of establishing a factory in any of the 1.5 Million Feddan areas to produce organic and liquid fertilizers and generate electricity from agricultural waste. The company would provide land, human resources, and technical expertise, while the Italian side would attract the necessary Italian investments and offer its experiences in this field. In a related context, Abdel Wahab reviewed the efforts of the Egyptian Countryside Development Company to activate "electronic marketing of crops and industries" in partnership with small farmers and private sector companies. He welcomed learning from the Italian experience in this field, noting that electronic agricultural marketing could bring about a qualitative leap in Egypt's agriculture sector, especially within the 1.5 Million Feddan project. The company has already taken practical steps to implement this in partnership with farmers and specialized private sector entities by establishing the necessary mechanisms, systems, and databases to support the success of electronic agricultural marketing for various crops and production outputs in the new Egyptian countryside lands. Abdel Wahab stressed the importance of supporting cooperation between the two sides in organic farming and medicinal and aromatic plants to benefit from Italian expertise in using advanced global techniques for producing healthy agricultural crops. This would transfer the Italian experience in agricultural production development and support for small farmers, as well as preserve the agricultural and water environment. He praised Italy's excellence in organic farming and the development of the "greenhouse" system, which has positively impacted the Italian economy. He concluded by inviting Italian companies to invest in the 1.5 Million Feddan project and to visit various sites and lands to explore and exploit the promising opportunities the project offers in many areas of mutual interest and activity. These include agricultural production and manufacturing projects, livestock and poultry activities, a package of service and logistical projects, as well as industrial development and agricultural mechanization projects. The Italian ambassador in Cairo expressed the strength and durability of official and popular relations between Egypt and Italy. He emphasized the strategic relations between the two countries, which are positive and distinguished in various developmental, political, and economic fields. The Italian ambassador highlighted his country's special attention to cooperation with Egypt and supporting its development and national projects. He affirmed his country's interest in enhancing developmental, agricultural, and investment relations with Egypt due to the promising opportunities the Egyptian market offers to Italian investors. Quaroni assured his country's close monitoring of the economic developments in Egypt, especially the economic reform program implemented by the Egyptian government, which has received approval from various international financing institutions. He expressed his and his country's support for the 1.5 Million Feddan project, a crucial national project impacting Egypt's economic future, and efforts to stimulate investments between the two countries. He is keen to attract Italian investments to the project, serving the interests of both nations and their people. The Italian ambassador pointed out that major Italian companies are genuinely interested in investing in agricultural production, land reclamation, and agricultural manufacturing in Egypt. He affirmed that Italy considers Egypt a strategic and significant partner and a major force for cooperation in the agricultural field. Egypt's promising market, diverse agricultural and food capabilities, and the substantial agricultural renaissance and major national projects it has achieved over the past years in development and land reclamation make it a vital partner.
