Cairo (UNA-OIC) – On February 20, 2023, at the invitation of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has left for Egypt on an official visit.
The state flags of the two countries were raised, and a guard of honor was lined up at Cairo International Airport for the meeting of the President of Uzbekistan.
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met and sincerely greeted the Leader of Uzbekistan. A brief meeting of the heads of state took place.
On February 20, the President of Uzbekistan visited the Cairo Nilometer built by Uzbek ancestor, the great scientist Ahmad Fergani, and get acquainted with the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization exposition.
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with the heads of leading companies in Egypt.
From the Egyptian side, the event was attended by the Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Ibrahim Mahmoud Al Araby, heads of such large companies as Elsewedy Electric, El Araby Group, Orascom Construction, Poliserve Group, Al-Rowad, Lotus Garments Group, and others.
Huge potential in bilateral relations and great opportunities for building up business ties and business contacts, enhancing mutual investment and increasing trade between Uzbekistan and Egypt were noted at the meeting.
The Leader of Uzbekistan emphasized the important role played by the business communities of the two countries in establishing modern strong bridges of cooperation, including the example of the restoration route of the Great Silk Road that flourished in the past.
The dynamics of partnership development in recent years were noted with satisfaction. In particular, the indicators of trade turnover are multiplying, the number of joint projects and enterprises has increased by 6 times.
The President of Uzbekistan highly appreciated the results of the Uzbekistan – Egypt Business Forum held the day before, as a result of which specific agreements were reached on the implementation of more than 20 agreements and contracts worth $1.6 billion.
Wide opportunities for industrial cooperation in the energy, electrical, chemical, mining, textile, agricultural, pharmaceutical, leather and footwear industries were noted.
“Egyptian companies have all the opportunities for the joint implementation of large investment programs in our country”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized.
An exchange of views took place on promising areas of interaction and the implementation of new growth points. Proposals were made for the early implementation of joint projects and agreements.
In their speeches, representatives of leading Egyptian companies highly appreciated the ongoing large-scale reforms in New Uzbekistan.
It was emphasized that the ongoing transformations, the liberalization of the economy and the favorable investment climate opened up great opportunities for expanding the presence of Egyptian business in the Uzbek market.
For example, Elsewedy Electric, Egypt’s largest producer of electricity, transformers and cable products, is ready for the practical development of joint projects for the construction of wind and solar power plants, the establishment of the production of transformers, cable and wire products and accessories.
The leadership of Orascom Construction expressed interest in implementing a project in Uzbekistan to create an industrial park with the subsequent construction of facilities for the production of paints and varnishes and chemicals for building materials on its territory, as well as the construction of a wind farm with a capacity of 100 MW.
Sharing their vision of further development of bilateral cooperation, major investors of Egypt noted that they consider Uzbekistan as a bridge to enter the markets of Central Asia.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev supported the plans and initiatives voiced, instructed the responsible persons from the Uzbek side to ensure strict control over the implementation of the proposed projects.
Following the meeting, it was decided to adopt a joint roadmap to ensure the practical implementation of joint projects and further build up trade and investment cooperation.
The main events of the visit, including high-level talks, are scheduled for February 21.
