Al Alam Al Youm, P.19 (26-5-2008)

 

The Indian MoS for Commerce and Energy Jairam Ramesh to the weekly issue of Al Alam Al Youm:

Indian investments in Egypt will reach US$ 5 billion within three years

 

Interviewed by: Fathi Al Sayeh

 

 

    The Indian Minister of State for Commerce and Energy Mr. Jairam Ramesh confirmed that the Indian investments in Egypt are expected to increase from US$700 million to US$ 5 billion over the next three years, based on the projects that are presently in the pipeline. He added that India is currently contributing to the modernization of the Egyptian railways through supplying locomotives, equipment and experts. The other areas of cooperation, which were identified between the two countries, include electricity and energy. India is the fourth largest trade partner of Egypt after the US, Italy
and KSA.

 

Mr. Ramesh said that the Indo-Egyptian commercial relations are deeply rooted in history. He added that his residence in New Delhi is located in a street named after the late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. He indicated that the great Indian leader Maulana Abul Kalam Azad studied at Al Azhar University in Cairo. The Indian Minister added that India is planning to increase its tea exports to Egypt, Iran and Pakistan. In this context, he said that the volume of Indian tea consumed by Egyptians is estimated at 9 million kg. and is expected to increase to 10 million kg. by the end of this year.

 

Following is the text of the interview:

 

Q: What have you discussed during your meetings with PM Dr. Ahmed Nazif and the Egyptian ministers of Finance, electricity, investment and trade  on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (Davos) in Sharm El Sheikh?

 

Ans.: I told the Egyptian PM Dr. Nazif during our meeting that India is the 11th largest foreign investor in Egypt with total investments of US$ 700 million and these investments would jump to US$ 5 billion over the next three years, based on the projects that are presently in the pipeline. So, India will be among the top five foreign investors in Egypt. Moreover, India today is the fourth largest trade partner of Egypt after the US, Italy and KSA. Dr. Nazif replied,
"Why India to be No.5 and not No.1 on the list of foreign investors in Egypt." In fact, I believe that this challenge would be dealt with by the Indian Ambassador in Cairo. I assured the PM that India would be one of the largest foreign investors in Egypt.

 

Doha Round

 

Q: Is there any cooperation between Egypt and India pertaining to
the WTO negotiations?

 

Ans.: Yes, there is continuous cooperation and coordination between Egypt and India regarding the stances within the WTO. For instance, during the last round of the WTO in Doha, we have agreed together to work for the interest of the developing countries. We are always keen to have consultations over the international economic issues, which are of interest not only for Egypt and India but also for other developing countries.

 

Q: Have you taken any practical steps during WTO round in Doha?

 

Ans.: As I told you that there are continuous cooperation and coordination between the Egyptian and Indian sides regarding the WTO negotiations. For instance, we practice pressures on developed countries, like the US, Japan and others in order to push them to reduce the subsidy they offer to agricultural commodities so that agriculture and agricultural commodities of the developing countries can easily make its way in the international markets.

 

Q: There are some Indian experts working in the Egyptian Agricultural Commodities Stock Market…what about their contributions?

 

Ans.: The Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Mr. Amin Abaza recently visited India, where he met with his Indian counterpart and discussed together a number of issues, such as the future of agricultural markets and the efforts to be exerted to curb price rise of food items in the world.

 

As for the Indian experts, who work at the Egyptian stock market, I believe that they share their experience in this domain with their Egyptian colleagues and this will definitely push forward the relations between Egypt and India in the agricultural and economic fields.

 

Q: What about the latest agreements signed between Egypt and India in the economic field, especially after the visit of the Egyptian Minister of Trae and Industry Eng. Rashid Mohammed Rashid to India and Your Excellency's current visit to Egypt?

 

Ans.: We held several bilateral talks with the objective to increase Indian investments in Egypt in several domains, including chemicals, petrochemicals, fertilizers, railways and tea. We want to export large quantities of tea to Egypt.

 

Q: Are there any talks regarding the establishment of any Indian investments in Egypt soon by the Indian private sector in the domains you mentioned?

 

Ans.: The Indian private sector did not say anything about pumping fresh investments into Egypt at present. Actually, there are talks and proposals between India and Egypt regarding the increase of Indian investments in the coming period in view of some ventures proposed by private sector.

 

As far as the Indian government is concerned, it cooperates with the Egyptian government in modernizing the Egyptian railways and providing Egypt with modern trains, equipment and expertise. There is cooperation also in projects in the fields of electricity and energy.

 

Transformers and Turbines

 

Q: What about the projects related to the increase of power generation in Egypt?

 

Ans.: During my recent meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Electricity
Dr. Hassan Younis in Cairo, we have agreed on a number of projects in the field of power generation and electricity. It was agreed that both sides would pursue the setting up of a joint venture entity in Egypt to produce transformers, boilers, switchgear and other equipment for the power industry. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited of India (BHEL) would provide additional transformers for the Egyptian electricity grid. The rehabilitation of power plants with Indian expertise was also identified as an important area for follow-up. The two Ministers also agreed to explore cooperation in the area of wind energy with the help of Indian companies, which have emerged as the biggest producers of wind turbines in the world.

 

Q: What is the nature of the Indo-Egyptian relations in your point of view?

 

Ans.: The Minister jokingly replied, "Today, I visited the relics of the past here in Egypt. I believe that if we dig under the pyramids, we will find Indian spices with the Egyptian mummies. During my meeting with the Egyptian PM Dr. Ahmed Nazif, I told him that I live since 10 years in a street in New Delhi named after the Egyptian late President Gamal Abdel Nasser and it is one of most famous streets in the capital. Egypt and India enjoy deeply-rooted political and economic relations. I believe that the next five years would witness the formation of a new economic partnership between the two countries. In this context, I would like to say that Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, one of the greatest Indian leaders in the 20th century studied at Al Azhar University in Cairo. I believe that the distinguished political relations between Egypt and India would pave the way for greater economic relations between us.

 

The issue of Tea

 

Q: Why is India interested today in promoting tea in Egypt and some African and Asian countries?

 

Ans.: India has set up a special plan for tea exports, as the Indian government has identified the largest tea importers in the world, on top of which come Egypt, Iran and Pakistan, where there is a high demand on tea.

 

While I was visiting the Indian Cultural Centre in Down Town, I accidentally discovered that the street, where the centre is located is known as Indian Tea Alley (Mamar Al Shai Al Hindi), though there is no shop there selling Indian tea. There is an agreement now to reopen the Indian Tea Centre in Cairo, which was existing since 1979.

 

Q: What is the volume of Indian tea exports to Egypt?

 

Ans.: India is producing about 947 million kg. of tea, which represent 28% of the world tea production. India has about 39.000 tea gardens. Egypt is one of the largest tea importing countries. India imported about 8 million kg. of Indian tea during 2007-2008 and this volume will reach 9 million kg. by the end of the year, because the Egyptian consumers and importers have full confidence in the quality and competitive price of the Indian tea. Moreover, the Indian tea industry applies quality standards programmes.    Quality standards in India are under the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. Implementation of Quality Assurance programmes through Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) certifications is being actively pursued. Moreover, the Indian tea plants already been certified under ISO 9000 series for quality.

 

Egyptians will soon enjoy drinking Indian tea at the Indian Tea Centre, while listening to the songs of the legendary Egyptian singer Um Kalthoum.

 

Q: What are the new economic packages that India is offering to both Egypt and Africa in light of the cutting edge competition in the world to have access to the markets of Africa in general and Egypt in particular?

 

Ans.: During the coming five years (starting from 2009), India will increase the credit lines offered to public and private sector companies to reach US$ 6 billion in order to support small, medium and micro enterprises. Developing infrastructure in the areas of railways, IT, telecom and power generation and physical connectivity in Africa would be given top priority. To this end, we will reach out to the private sector and make full use of public-private partnerships. We will also cooperate in diversifying agricultural crops and building agricultural research institutions.

 

Through the recently-taken initiatives by the Indian government, the Indian PM Dr. Manmohan Singh sought to enhance partnership with the Egyptian side. In this context, the Indian PM announced a Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries on the occasion of this Summit. Under this Scheme, India shall unilaterally provide preferential market access for exports from all 50 least developed countries, 34 of which are in Africa. The Scheme will cover 94% of India’s total tariff lines. Specifically, it will provide preferential market access on tariff lines that comprise 92.5% of global exports of all LDCs.

 

India has achieved remarkable progress in economic and commercial relations with Egypt and several African countries as well as with African groupings, such as COMESA, SADCand ECOWAS and others.

 

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