By: Nayrouz Talaat CAIRO, May 1, 2018 - Egyptian, Greek and Cypriot officials held talks on Tuesday to boost trade and investment co-operation between the three countries through positive participation by the private sector. At a meeting organised by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce as part of the Roots Revival Initiative, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Qabil said that the three countries wanted to achieve an economic and investment breakthrough through their cultural and historical links. The meeting was attended by Alexandria Governor Mohamed Sultan, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) Ahmed el-Wakeel, and Greek and Cypriot economic representatives. Minister Qabil said that the three countries were working to achieve economic integration with the help of representatives of the chambers of commerce, businessmen, investors and companies in Egypt, Greece and Cyprus. Minister Qabil said that Egypt's trade with Cyprus had increased by 43 per cent to be worth more than 180 million euros while trade with Greece was worth about 400 million euros. "Sizeable and promising investment opportunities are available to the three countries through the support and participation of the private sector," the minister added. Qabil said that talks were being held on exporting Cypriot gas from Egypt. He pointed out that there were large Cypriot and Greek investments in Egypt. The Egyptian trade minister also said that an Egyptian project worth 250 million euros was underway in Cyprus and there were other projects in Greece. He confirmed that Egypt was seeking to increase such investments, soon. He added that Egypt was working on improving its business climate and presenting available investment opportunities to attract investments from all over the world. The minister also said that Cyprus was interested in investing in the Suez Canal Developmental Project, especially in the logistics field and negotiations were underway in this regard. "Egyptian investment facilities are provided to all investors and not to any particular country. These facilities and incentives are part of the investment law," the minister said. He added that Egypt was doing its best to eliminate bureaucracy with a view to improving the business climate.
