Egyptian companies sign US$922m contracts
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-11 11:16

Egyptian companies on Sunday signed 22 contracts worth US$922 million with a business delegation from South China's Guangdong Province at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef.

Speaking before some 100 Egyptian and Chinese entrepreneurs, Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Wu Sike declared that companies from the two countries had made substantial achievements in their contacts.

He noted Egypt and China had reached a number of agreements during Chinese President Hu Jintao's last visit to Egypt early this year, adding that cooperation between the business circles in the two countries is part of the efforts to "enforce" those agreements.

Zhang Dejiang, head of the Chinese delegation, said China and Egypt have much in common and the two sides can create a win-win situation through economic cooperation.

He said China is willing to seize the investment opportunities arising from the business-friendly policies initiated by the new Egyptian cabinet.

Nazef, for his part, said Egypt values the expertise China has built up in its 20-year economic reforms.

He said the Egyptian government is carrying out further legal and administrative reforms, pledging more support to those who come and do business in the country, especially the Chinese investors.

Nazef, former minister of communications and IT, took over as prime minister in a cabinet reshuffle in July.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hoped Nazef, together with several other young and reform-minded ministers, would push through tough reforms to reactivate a stagnant economy.

Guangdong, a booming coastal province, was the first to implement the opening-up policy in China. In 2003, the economic activities in Guangdong accounted for one-third of the national economy.

Trade relations have enjoyed steady development between Egypt and China in the past few years.

The trade volume between the two countries exceeded US$1 billion last year. Bilateral trade reached US$871 millions at the end of July this year, a 49.8 percent increase over the same period last year.

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