At least 89 Arab and European countries, including India, will participate in the three-day Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) which will kick off on Friday at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, conference spokesperson Ambassador Hossam el-Kawish has announced.
Egypt plans to promote at least 60 projects at the long-awaited economic gathering, with the aim of getting fresh investments to boost its limping economy, el-Kawish said yesterday and added, "about 25 country presidents will be attending the conference."
The high-level delegations have started arriving at the coastal Sharm el-Sheikh city in south Sinai governorate of Egypt for EEDC that runs 13-15 March, el-Kawish told el-Hayat TV channel.
At the same time, India's Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri on Thursday said he will travel to Sharm el-Sheikh on Friday as he heads a large Indian delegation participating in the EEDC.
The delegation will comprise 43 representatives from 25 companies in addition to a contingent from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), one of the principal chambers of commerce and industry in India, the Indian Embassy in Egypt said.
The representation will cut across sectors and will include the petro-chemicals giant TCI Sanmar, the Egyptian Indian Polyester Company (EIPET), Tata Sons, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Galaxy Chemicals, Essel Propack and Olam International among others, it said.
The companies include those that already have a presence in Egypt as well as those looking for investment opportunities such as Maruti Suzuki, Godrej consumer products, Aptech and Shapoorji & Pallonji among others.
Indian companies are keenly interested in exploring opportunities in renewable energy, Information Technology, Engineering, Automobiles, Irrigation, Petrochemicals and other fields. India and Egypt have a strong economic relationship that has grown despite the global economic downturn. Between 2008-09 till 2012-13, bilateral trade grew by 30 percent and now stands close to USD 5 billion.
India is Egypt's sixth largest trading partner overall, the second largest export destination for Egypt and the 11th largest source of imports, it added. Principal export times from India to Egypt include mineral fuels, automobile parts, meat and meat products, electrical and machinery products and cotton while India imports�crude oil, rock phosphate, cotton, chemicals and oil seeds.
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