Sharjah (WAM): The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, SCCI and an official delegation from Egypt held a meeting cum discussion on the prospects of developing bilateral relations as well as ways of enhancing joint cooperation and building investment partnerships between the two sides in both government and private sectors.

The discussions took place on Monday during a meeting organised by the Sharjah Chamber at its headquarters, in the presence of Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of the SCCI; and Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform in Egypt. The Egyptian delegation stressed that the UAE is Egypt’s largest investment partner, and that Sharjah was chosen as the strategic partner of the Consulate of Egypt in Dubai for the year 2019.

The meeting was attended by Mohamed Rashid Ali Demas, Ali Mohamed Abdalla Al Khayyal, and Nasir Musabeh Ahmed Al Tunaiji, board members of the SCCI. The meeting was also attended by Mohamed Ahmed Amin, Acting Director-General of the SCCI; Dr Yunan Edward, Head of the Egyptian Trade Office in Dubai; and representatives of the sectoral business groups operating under the umbrella of the Chamber, in addition to a number of heads of companies in the emirate, and a group of Egyptian investors and business people.

Abdallah Al Owais praised the strong relations between Sharjah and Egypt. He stated that the chamber is keen to develop economic relations between the UAE and Egypt, and to increase the volume of trade and investment between the two countries.

Al Owais expressed his hope that the meeting will contribute to enhancing the cooperation and coordination between the UAE and Egyptian business communities, which will in turn help to increase the cultural ties and trade exchange between Sharjah and Egypt.

Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Administrative Reform in Egypt, stated that the meeting was fruitful. She noted that the growth rates in many promising sectors in Egypt are very attractive, in light of economic reform and structural management that has been witnessed since 2016 in these sectors, and the result of political and social stability in Egypt, which is reflected positively in its growth rate that has reached 5.5 per cent.

Dr Yunan Edward, Head of the Egyptian Trade Office in Dubai, remarked that Sharjah is the strategic partner of the Consulate of Egypt in Dubai for the year 2019. He praised the interest and attention that the Sharjah Chamber gives to Egyptian companies, investors and business people, which helps to benefit the economic interests of the UAE and Egypt, as well as to develop joint cooperation and developmental projects between the private sectors of both sides.

The two sides highlighted their common interest in developing economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries in order to attain further growth and prosperity. The two sides agreed to launch joint initiatives in the near future to highlight the investment opportunities available to both sides in various economic and trade sectors, as well as to support activities that contribute in developing relations between the UAE and Egypt, to promote trade exchange between the two friendly countries, and to increase mutual investments between the two sides.

The Chamber called on the Egyptian business community to enhance the participation of Egyptian companies in the exhibitions organized and hosted by Expo Centre Sharjah throughout the year, in order for them to become familiar with the economic environment in the emirate, as well as to establish relations with the local business community, and to benefit from the investment opportunities available in Sharjah.