Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister for Industrial Development and Minister of Industry and Transport, Kamel Al-Wazir, held extensive talks with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, and his accompanying delegation. The meeting focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of industry and transport, with several senior officials from Egypt's Ministries of Industry and Transport in attendance. Al-Wazir began by highlighting the strong and historic ties between Egypt and Hungary at both the leadership and governmental levels. He reaffirmed Egypt's eagerness to expand collaboration with Hungary across various sectors to serve the mutual interests of both countries. He also expressed appreciation for Szijjártó's visit, emphasizing the importance of reviewing ongoing projects and exploring new initiatives that could strengthen industrial and transport partnerships. A key focus of the discussions was the progress of the 1,350-passenger railway car deal, supplied by the Hungarian company Ganz-MÁVAG. So far, 1,016 cars have been delivered, covering different categories, including third-class dynamic ventilation cars, third-class and first-class air-conditioned cars, and third-class buffet air-conditioned cars. The Hungarian company reaffirmed its commitment to delivering the remaining railway cars on schedule while maintaining the highest standards of quality, particularly for the first-class coaches, to ensure an improved passenger experience. This agreement represents the largest railway car procurement in Egypt's history and marks a significant step in modernizing the country's railway infrastructure. During the meeting, Al-Wazir reiterated Egypt's openness to industrial collaboration with international partners, particularly Hungary. He explained that the Ministry of Industry is implementing a comprehensive plan to enhance Egypt's industrial sector in line with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's directive to transform the country into a regional industrial hub. He noted that Egypt is ready to work with Hungarian companies to establish new factories in priority industries, including renewable energy, automobile manufacturing, elevators and escalators, energy storage batteries, car tires, polyester production, and water pump systems. He emphasized the importance of utilizing Hungarian expertise to localize these industries in Egypt, which would help boost local production and exports. Szijjártó reaffirmed Hungary's commitment, through Ganz-MÁVAG, to completing the railway car deliveries within the agreed timeline. He underscored that this project is the largest railway manufacturing initiative in Hungary's history and serves as a key milestone for deeper cooperation between the two countries in the railway sector. He also noted the strong interest of several Hungarian companies in investing in Egypt's industrial sector, highlighting the country's promising investment climate as a major attraction for new business ventures. At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides agreed to intensify discussions in the coming period to monitor the progress of ongoing projects and establish mechanisms for implementing future initiatives.
