Trade Deals between European and Egyptian companies worth $43bn By Pramod Kumar July 1, 2024, 3:13 AM Egyptian Presidency/Reuters Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Cairo European companies are signing more than €40 billion ($43 billion) worth of deals with Egyptian companies across a range of sectors, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said. “We have companies in sectors ranging from hydrogen to water management, from construction to chemicals, from shipping to aviation and to automotive,” she said at the European Union (EU)-Egypt investment conference in Cairo. Europe is already Egypt’s largest trade partner and investor, accounting for 40 percent of the North African nation’s foreign direct investments. You might also like:Economic indicators from every GCC country “With our new agreement, we have decided to reach a new level of strategic engagement between us. “You are a gateway to Europe, between Africa and the Middle East, and between the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific. So your stability and prosperity are essential for an entire region,” she added. In April the EU said it would provide €1 billion in urgent short-term financial aid to support Egypt’s economy as part of a larger €5 billion macro-financial assistance package. World Bank’s $700m push for Egypt’s private sector EU agrees $8bn funding package with Egypt EU reveals total aid to North Africa to combat migration The remaining €4 billion will be released as longer-term assistance over 2024-2027 but is yet to be cleared by the 27-member bloc. Meanwhile, Egypt plans to increase its renewable energy target to 58 percent by 2040 compared to 42 percent by 2030, as part of its new green energy strategy, Reuters reported, citing electricity minister Mohamed Shaker. The government expects to publish the new strategy in the next two to three months, he told the conference.
