Having established an excellent level of political relations, the embassy's current efforts are mainly directed towards boosting economic ties between Armenia and Egypt. The turning point in the development of business and economic relations between Armenia and Egypt was the first official visit of the Armenian Prime Minister, Andranik Margaryan, to Egypt in December 2005. The Prime Minister headed a high-level business delegation comprising the representatives of the private sector,the Armenian Chamber of Commerce, and the Armenian Development Agency.The Armenian party made a presentation of the Armenian economic overview, investment incentives, import-export opportunities. In addition, they met with a number of Egyptian businessmen and gained an understanding of the Egyptian market, its needs and opportunities. During the visit, an agreement on avoidance of double taxation as well as an agreement for cooperation between Egyptian and Armenian Chambers of Commerce were signed. Following the visit of the Prime Minister, the President of Armenia Robert Kocharian visited Egypt from April 14 till April 16, 2007. President Kocharian was accompanied with a 25-member business delegation from Armenia’s IT, pharmaceutical, construction, textile, agriculture and food processing sectors. The Armenian businessmen conferred with their Egyptian counterparts at the Egyptian-Armenian Business Forum at the premises of the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association on April 15, 2007. The Federation of Egyptian Industries also organized one-to-one meetings between Armenian and Egyptian businessmen. Furthermore, the IT delegation headed by the Minister of Trade and Economic Development Karen Chshmaritian, visited the Smart Village in Egypt and met with Egypt’s Minister of IT and Communications Tarek Kamel, as well as the Deputy IT Minister, Chief of ITIDA and members of Chamber of IT and Communications Industries. As a result, an Egyptian-Armenian Business Council agreement has been signed, in addition to a number of other agreements (read in the Signed Agreements page.) Armenia and Egypt started implementing cooperation projects in different sectors. 1. Information Technologies - The Embassy of Armenia in Cairo initiated the first visit of the Armenian IT sector representatives to Egypt for participation in the Cairo ICT 2006 during February 6-8, 2006. The Armenian delegation comprised the following entities: (1) Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), which is the largest IT development program currently implemented in Armenia under the auspices of the World Bank; (2) Union of IT Enterprises (UITE), the first and biggest IT association in Armenia comprising around 20 largest IT players in the country; (3) IT Development Support Council represented by the Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister; (4) AviaInfoTel CJSC, an IT system integrator and developer specializing in the creation and support of large scale technological systems and their components. The delegation participated in the Cairo ICT 2006 under one, both representing the Armenian IT sector. The delegation members held a number of meetings with the Ministry of IT and Communication of Egypt, IT International Development Agency (ITIDA), National Regulatory Telecom Authority, Ministry of Administrative Development, Association of software companies ELABs, Chamber of IT and Communication Industries, and a number of private companies. Following their visit to Egypt, Armenia’s IT sector extended its invitation to the Egyptian side to participate in the IT Business Forum held under the auspices of the Armenia-Diaspora Economic Conference on September 22, 2006. The Egyptian delegation included a number of private IT companies, Chamber of IT and Communication Industries, and ITIDA. The delegation participated in the IT Business Forum, as well as Armenian-Egyptian IT Forum where representatives of both countries had had one-to-one meetings and discussions. Further cooperation steps between the IT sectors of both countries have been outlined in an MOU signed in Yerevan by and between Egypt’s Chamber of IT and Communication Industries, Armenian Union of IT Enterprises and Armenian Enterprise Incubator Foundation. Also in the pipeline is the establishment of the first in the Middle East RFI (Radio Frequency Identification) excellence center in Cairo. The center is to be established in the Nile University by three parties: the Enterprise Incubator Foundation is to provide technical assistance and know-how, the Nile University is to act as a research center and Egyptian Chamber of IT Industries is to implement the project. 2. Pharmaceuticals - The Embassy of Armenia in Egypt assisted one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Egypt, Pharco, in gaining market information about Armenia. Following some research, representatives of Pharco visited Armenia in September 2006 to investigate the option of exporting capsules to Armenia in bulk for their further packaging and selling. The company representatives held a number of meetings with private pharmaceutical companies in Armenia, as well as the Ministry of Health. Besides, a possibility of launching a production line in Armenia for drugs and vaccines manufacturing was researched.
Today, Pharco and Delta Pharm already have trade agreements with Armenian pharmaceutical companies. Both companies have been fully engaged in exporting their products to Armenia. Pharco, in cooperation with an Armenian company, plans establishing a US $180,000 joint production of Narine bacteria in Egypt.
3. Tourism - One of the obstacles impeding economic cooperation is the lack of direct flights between Egypt and Armenia.The delegation of the Armenian national carrier, Armavia, visited Egypt in 2005 to discuss with Egypt Air a possibility of direct flights between Yerevan and Cairo through the third country. Worth noting that, with the assistance of the Embassy of Armenia in Egypt, three charter flights carried Armenian tourists to Egypt, mainly to resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh, during 2006.
4. Agriculture - The visit of the Armenian Deputy Minister of Agriculture to Egypt took place in 2006. The reciprocal visit of the Egyptian counterpart to Armenia is on agenda. Armenia has a very well developed dairy products industry, as well as meat and fish processing industry. Launching joint business ventures in dairy production in Egypt is one of the multitudes of opportunities existing between the two countries.
5. Textile sector - Armenian companies started implementing cooperation projects with Egyptian Counterparts in 2005. The first Egyptian Cotton House was set up in Armenia in 2005 to start bulk export of Egyptian cotton and garments to Armenia. The total Armenian investment into the project is valued at around US $1 mn.
6. Oil and Gas sector - The Armenian side has expressed its readiness to import 250,000 tons of 95 Petroleum products from Egypt. The appropriate proposals have been sent to the Ministry of International Cooperation. At the presenttime, the Embassy is waiting for a response from the Egyptian side.
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