Mubarak meets EIB Chairman

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak received on Tuesday morning at the Presidency Palace President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and his accompanying delegation.

Minister of Planning and State for International Cooperation Ahmad Darsh attended the meeting.

It would be the first time the Bank's Board holds a meeting outside the EU countries.

The delegation will also tour several investment and industrial projects in Cairo and Alexandria and a number of new industrial cities.

They will also sign several agreements with the Egyptian private sector.

"President Mubarak was briefed on the activities of the European Investment Bank by (EIB) Chairman Phillips Maystadt and his accompanying delegation," said Ahmed Al-Darsh.

Egypt's relations with the EIB dates back to 1978, Darsh said after President Mubarak's meeting with the EIB delegation.

"The EIB has so far financed 2-billion-Euro projects in the fields of infrastructure and private sector projects like the MEDOR project," he said.

"The projects of interest to the EIB are those of regional dimension among neighboring countries, commensurate with the Barcelona Agreement that enhances cooperation between Mediterranean and European Union (EU) countries," said Darsh.

Darsh pointed out that the Egyptian Capital Market did not offer long-term credits, a matter which prompted the EIB to be a private sector-oriented organization.

The biggest financial institution world-wide, the EIB offers loans for a thin profit margin of 0.4%-1%, said darsh, noting that the EIB represented a good source for financing the private sector.

"The EIB is bridging a gap currently existing in the market in Egypt," said Darsh.

He pointed out that the EIB projects (with the BOT. system) might extend to the Cairo underground metro.

The EIB has earmarked 6.450 billion Euro to invest in the Mediterranean Basin countries till 2007, with Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco getting the lion's share.

"The meeting with President Hosni Mubarak Tuesday offered a good opportunity to discuss the activities of the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Egypt," said Philippe Maystdat.

"The EIB is a financial institution belonging to the European Union (EU) and that is why its activities fall within the EU framework," he said.

"We are, however, inclined to work beyond the EU frontiers," said Maystadt.

He pointed out that President Mubarak is aware that we received a mandate by virtue of the so-called Mediterranean Partnership Agreement signed in Barcelona in 1995, adding the EIB is active in Egypt.

"The Bank's activities in Egypt will deal with projects in the fields of gas, tourism and environment, in public and private sectors as well as other hard currency-yielding projects of interest to Egypt," said Maystadt.

"The EIB is ready to extend pipelines to help export Egyptian gas to neighboring countries," said Maystadt.