Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan al-Khatib commended robust and distinguished economic relations between Egypt and France at the present time, saying France is a major investor in the Egyptian market with total investments worth seven billion euros distributed among 180 projects.
Khatib made the remarks in a speech that he delivered on Monday at the Egyptian-French Business Forum in Paris, in the presence of Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Sophie Primas and CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones Hossam Heiba, as well as a large number of officials and business representatives from both countries.
The investment minister said he looks forward to working with the French minister of foreign affairs to foster joint cooperation and advance the Egyptian-French economic and trade ties, which in turn contributes to bringing about sustainable development and achieving the aspirations of the two countries’ peoples.
Khatib noted this event builds upon the 2024 investment conference held between Egypt and the EU in June, which resulted in signing 20 agreements valued at 40 billion euro between Egyptian and French companies in areas that included green hydrogen, water management, petrochemicals, shipping, aviation, and auto industry.
Egypt has maintained its position as the largest recipient of foreign direct investments in Africa for two consecutive years, with investments pumped into non-oil sectors reached a historic peak of $46.1 billion for the FY 2023/2024, Khatib said.
The investment minister reiterated Egypt’s commitment to continuing the economic reforms aimed at improving the investment climate, as well as injecting further investments into infrastructure projects.
Khatib highlighted Egypt’s strategic geographical location, which connects Europe, Asia and Africa, providing access to a consumer market of 106 million people and a skilled workforce of 31 million.
The minister concluded the Egyptian-French Business Forum is held at a delicate time, where the world faces several economic challenges that require more efforts to deepen economic cooperation between the Egyptian and French business communities, with the aim of exploring new areas of investment that would help attain economic growth in both countries.
