Cairo: SiltaNews – News Desk
Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, received Monday Suresh K. Reddy, the Indian Ambassador to Cairo. The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic, trade, and investment relations between their countries. They also reviewed several vital topics of mutual interest aimed at elevating the level of bilateral cooperation.
During the meeting, emphasis was placed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to achieve industrial integration between the two countries and to leverage the Egyptian market as a strategic launching pad for foreign markets. This is based on Egypt’s competitive advantages, which grant it access to a large number of international markets with preferential terms, thanks to the free trade agreements signed with numerous regional and global economic blocs.
Dr. Mohamed Farid stated that the meeting reviewed the ongoing arrangements for holding the seventh session of the Joint Trade Committee in Cairo in the coming period. He emphasized that the government is working to provide a more competitive and attractive investment climate, based on transparency and clarity, and to provide a supportive institutional and legislative environment, while simplifying procedures and removing obstacles to enhance the role of the private sector as a key partner in development.
The Minister pointed out that the Egyptian market possesses many attractive features for investment, including competitive wages, the availability of qualified human resources, and incentives offered for land allocation. He affirmed the state’s interest in attracting more Indian investments and providing them with all means of support, especially given the government’s serious commitment to addressing all concerns of Indian companies investing in Egypt immediately.
Dr. Mohamed Farid confirmed that Egypt seeks to develop joint cooperation with India, particularly in the fields of food security, communications and information technology, health and pharmaceuticals, water desalination, new and renewable energy, textiles, the automotive industry and its components, and chemical industries, in a way that contributes to achieving integration between the production capacities of the two countries.
In a move reflecting the state’s commitment to supporting international partners, the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade directed that a comprehensive meeting be held with major Indian companies to review investment opportunities and resources, as well as the comparative advantages and investment incentives available in the Egyptian market.
The meeting also aimed to address all the challenges facing their investments, with the goal of finding fundamental solutions and contributing to propelling economic cooperation between the two countries to new heights. For his part, Ambassador Suresh K. Reddy, the Indian Ambassador to Cairo, affirmed his country’s keenness to strengthen the frameworks of joint economic cooperation between New Delhi and Cairo.
He noted that the Indian business community highly values the promising investment opportunities in Egypt across a wide range of sectors of mutual interest, which offer a fertile environment for growth. The Indian Ambassador added that Indian companies have a genuine desire to expand their presence in the Egyptian market to capitalize on its strategic geographic location and available investment incentives. He emphasized the importance of strengthening joint efforts to achieve the goals of comprehensive economic development in both countries.
The meeting was attended by Eng. Mohamed El-Gousky, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones; Dr. Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, Head of the Trade Representation; Ghada Nour, Assistant Minister for Investment and Promotion Affairs; Dr. Amani El-Wassal, Head of the Agreements and Foreign Trade Sector; Abed Mehran, Assistant Minister; Ahmed Badawi, Head of the Promotion Sector at the Investment Authority; and Gomaa Madani, Head of the Central Department for Trade Agreements.
The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and India reached about $4 billion and 203 million in 2025, achieving an increase of 12%. Indian investments in Egypt are diverse, including the chemical, infrastructure, tourism and textile sectors. The state is currently aiming to attract more of these investments in the renewable energy, automotive and pharmaceutical industries sectors to deepen local manufacturing and increase export rates.