Egypt-US free trade agreement to buttress bilateral relations

Mohammed A1 Ghamrawi, Egyptian Chief of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), underlined the importance of speeding up the signing of the free trade-agreement between Egypt and the United States to buttress relations in the economic field.

In a meeting between Ghamrawi and a visiting US Congress delegation, Ghamrawi reviewed Egypt's policies, the investment atmosphere, the general indications of the economy.

He also expounded the plan to up the economic growth to exceed 6 per cent annually by augmenting foreign investments and providing the chance for the private sector to share in all-projects.

Ghamrawi and the US delegation also probed investment opportunities available in Egypt in the fields of infrastructure like power stations, airports, highways, ports and water desalination stations.

He pointed out that there are a lot of promising investment sectors in Egypt, including petrochemicals, spinning & weaving, food industries and tourism.

US investments in Egypt come second to Britain's as the United States is contributing to 253 investment projects with joint capital of LE 7.5 billion with investment cost of LE 11.5 billion.

The United States contributes LE 2 billion, 27 per cent of the issued capital of these projects.