British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa announced on Tuesday the launch of his country’s largest trade mission to Egypt in over 10 years, ahead of an economic conference Egypt has scheduled for March.
Speaking at a business and investment conference in Cairo, Minister Tobias Ellwood said the mission “demonstrates Britain’s commitment to boost international investment in Egypt and increase trade between [the] two countries.”
“It is part of an ongoing programme of economic cooperation which will include more trade visits and UK participation in the March investment conference,” Ellwood said, according to a statement from the British Embassy in Cairo.
Ellwood arrived in Cairo earlier on Tuesday, heading a British trade delegation of over 40 representatives from leading firms in the fields of energy, construction and retail.
The investment conference would introduce the delegation to potential investment opportunities in Egypt, as well as governmental measures to facilitate and improve investment.
Egypt’s Planning Minister Ashraf al-Arabi announced in September that the country will hold a conference in February to attract foreign companies, donor and international organisations.
Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian nevertheless said last November that the conference will be postponed to March to avoid its overlap with Chinese holidays. It will be held in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh from March 13 to 15.