French companies clinch 10 billion euro oil contracts in Egypt

The French oil companies have recently signed a deal with the Egyptian government whereby they would obtain concessions for oil exploration in the Egyptian territories for a period of 20 years at a total cost of 10 billion euro, or 500 million euro annually, said the French Embassy's Economic Counselor, Herve Piquet.

In a meeting with members of the Egyptian-French Businessmen Association in the governorate of Ismailia, Piquet said that last year Egyptian-French volume of trade hit 1.3 billion euro, 700 million euro of which were French exports to Egypt. He cited a 13 percent increase in the French exports to Egypt compared to the previous year.

France is the second largest European investor in all sectors in Egypt, said Piquet during the meeting which was held to discuss the possibility of upping French investments in the three industrial zones in this coastal city.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Egyptian-French Businessmen Association Mahmoud Al-Qobasy said that steps to set up a federation for the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce with Germany, Italy and France are underway.

The step is aimed to unify dealings with the European Union's economic institutions and investment corporation, he added.