Egypt's industrial modernization program, a shared vison of development sectors
Egypt, Economics, 3/13/2002

Egyptian Minister of Industry Ali Saidi has declared his ministry's willingness to exchange expertise in various fields, especially industry, with neighbouring Arab states.

Addressing a seminar on IMPs, held late on Monday and attended by Tunisian Minister of Industry Monsef bin Abduallah, Saidi paid tribute to the Tunisian Industrial Modernisation Programme (IMP) which started in 1996 and has proved a marked success.

Saidi said that the concept of Egypt's IMP is a shared vision of the government and the private sector, in collaboration with the European Union (EU), aimed at helping Egypt to compete successfully in both domestic and international markets.

The industrial sector represents 20 per cent of Egypt's gross domestic product and is the flagship of the country's social and economic development, the minister said.

As Egypt integrates further into the world economy and international trading system, the performance of the private sector will become a major source of government revenue and a key job creator, he explained.

The EU-supported programme has targeted 5,000 enterprises for assistance in improving their competitiveness and will create 15 specialised technological centres.

The IMP's objectives work on three levels: policy/enabling environment, sectorial, and individual enterprise. Assistance will also be given to the ministry to facilitate growth of the private business sector and provide a more business-friendly environment.

Furthermore, assistance will also be given to businessmen's associations and other related organisations to address the needs of the business sector.

The EU has provided specialised technical assistance and granted approximately 250mn Euros to the IMP, which is the largest programme to be funded outside of the EU, Saidi said.

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