Members of FEI, Federation of Egyptian Industries, revealed that the new minister of industry and foreign trade will handle 9 strategic files that Dr Samir Al Sayiad, former minister of industry and foreign trade, failed to complete, while Dr Mahmoud Eissa hasn’t enough time.
Three of these files concern the industry sector. The first one is the energy file, which faces severe lack in return for the necessary expansion in constructing factories for cement, which foreigners seize. The second file is the industrial developers, while the third file concerns the stalled factories.
The new minister will tackle 6 files of the foreign trade sector, they concern operating 6 Arab, African and Foreign commercial agreements.
The new minister will also face the file of the industrial developers’ districts, which controlled by the foreigners and reached about 18 million cubic meters. These districts faced strong denunciation from the local investors, because of the high prices. Moreover, the investors faces a problem represents in the necessity of providing 10 million cubic meters every year to meet the needs of the industrial activity and its expansion.
With regard to the commercial matter, the minster will face the problem of operating the commercial exchange with Nile Basin countries, plus the free trade agreements with Mercosure which includes Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay; also the free trade agreement of EFTA, which include Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The last free trade agreement is COMESA, with 22 members from Libya to Zimbabwe, moreover, the free trade agreement with Turkey and the Arab free trade agreement.
The new minister also has to resume the negotiations with India and Russia to sign free trade agreement; this is to increase the volume of Egypt’s foreign trade which doesn’t exceed $ 82 billion annually.
