Egypt seeks JVs in construction, real estate: Egyptian Offical
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Dr. R K Dhawan, Chairman, FIEO-NR (3rd from left) addressing the gathering. With him, from left, are Mr. Subhash Goyal, Member, FIEO Managing Committee; H.E. Dr. Aly Awny; Mr. Wael Samir, Members of the delegation; Ms. Eva Saddik, Leader of the Delegation and Under Secretary of State, Head Promotion Dept., "GAFI; Ms. Walaa El-hoseiny, and Ms. Nada Sabdoun, Members of the delegation. |
Dr. Aly Awny, Head of the Qualified Industrial Zones Unit "Q.I.Z." in the Egyptian Ministry of Commerce & Industry has said that his country is looking to explore joint ventures with Indian partners in various fields, especially construction and real estate. On the other hand, the Northern Region Chairman of FIEO, Dr R. K. Dhawan points out that India can offer world-class healthcare to Egypt at low cost and called on Egyptian businessmen to collaborate with their Indian counterparts in healthcare sector.
Speaking at a meeting organized by FIEO with a five-member Egyptian business delegation representing travel & tourism, investment and other services sectors on 18th April at Niryat Bhawan in New Delhi, Dr. Dhawan said Indian services sector was on a high growth track and Egypt could well be a partner in progress for India’s emerging service industry. He highlighted the strategic location of Egypt with close proximity to Europe, West Asia and Africa, and exhorted Indian businessmen to explore opportunities of trade with Egypt.
The leader of the delegation, Ms Eva Saddik, Under Secretary of State, Head of Promotion Department, General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt (GAFI) explained about the recent measures taken by her country to encourage foreign investments. "Even 100% equity is allowed in Free Zones for foreign investors baring some restrictions in some areas. Our Government is also providing free land for big investments in Upper Egyptian region." She said. GAFI is the main body looking after investment and free zones of Egypt.
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A view of the participants. |
FIEO Managing Committee member Mr Subhash Goyal on this occasion spoke about the age old relationship the two countries enjoyed. He expressed happiness over the fact that Egypt was now providing visa on arrival to Indians and said it would boost commercial relations between the two sides.
Besides Ms. Saddik, the visiting delegation comprised of H.E. Dr. Aly Awny, Head of the Qualified Industrial Zones Unit "Q.I.Z.", Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Egypt; Mr. Wael Samir, Deputy Head of "Q.I.Z."; Ms. Walaa El-hosseiny, Advisor to Vice Chairman, GAFI; Ms. Nada Abdoun, Economical Researcher, Ministry of Investment, Egypt, and Mr. Mohamed Atef Haikal, Promotion Department, GAFI. Officials from the Egyptian Embassy in India Mohd. Abdullah, Commercial Counselor and Mohd. Ibrahim, Commercial Secretary also joined the occasion. Indian participants included representatives from sectors such as hotels, travel & tourism, construction, education, IT, etc.
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Initiatives by FIEO Kanpur Chapter Formation of Export Promotion Committee under the Chairmanship of Commissioner & Director of Industries UP Kanpur In a meeting of exporters and the office bearers of UP Leather Industries Association, Kanpur held under the Chairmanship of Mr. Devendra Chowdhry, Commissioner & Director of Industries, UP, FIEO Kanpur Chapter proposed that for effective implementation of various Export Promotion Schemes as also for overall development of export trade, frequent interaction between the leading exporters or their representative organizations and the officers of Departments dealing with their problems is necessary., Mr. Chowdhry appreciated the idea and in order to give the Committee a sound status and authority, he proposed to forward the proposal to the Government of UP for approval.
In the Open House organized earlier on the occasion of inauguration of FIEO Kanpur Chapter, the Minister of State for Commerce Mr. Jairam Ramesh had observed that the city of Kanpur, the biggest exporting hub of the state of Uttar Pradesh, had the privilege of having several renowned technical institutes including IIT, Kanpur. He had desired that efforts should be made to utilize the expertise of the R & D divisions of such institutes to tackle the manufacturing and technical problems of the exporting community. Accordingly, Kanpur Chapter proposed to organize a committee comprising of the technical experts of various Institutes and the representatives of exporters of various products such as leather, engineering goods, plastic, textile & hosiery etc. for frequent interaction, The Committee was proposed to function under the Chairmanship of Commissioner & Director of Industries, UP, Kanpur. The heads of the various leading technical institutions have been contacted and most of them have agreed to nominate their representatives for the committee. The matter is being pursued with Commissioner and Director of Industries.
The present entry to the ICD-JRY is through the crowded Kalpi Road from the city side which greatly hampers the movement of export/import cargo to and fro the ICD due to the crowded civil traffic, especially during no entry and peak hours. A Second Approach Road was planned from the Dada Nagar Industrial area side four years ago and the project was approved by the Government of UP under ASIDE Scheme in the year 2003. The matter was taken up by the then PIU i.e. UPSIDC with the Railway Authorities for according permission to utilize a piece of the Railway Land (1700 sqmt) falling within the project site. Despite repeated reminders, the permission of the Railway Authorities was not received and hence the project was given up. Since the Cargo Traffic at the ICD has been more than doubled over the years and is likely to increase further more rapidly, FIEO Kanpur Chapter has again taken up the matter with the concerned authorities of State Governments, CONCOR and North Central Railway. Commissioner & Director of Industries and MD, UPSIDC, has assured that a fresh project can again be prepared with new estimates and got approved under the ASIDE Scheme by the UP Government provided the permission of the concerned Railway Authorities is obtained. The matter is now being pursued with Railway and CONCOR Authorities who have assured their favorable consideration and support for the project. The project when completed will provide a great relief to the exporters utilizing the services of the ICD and will be a major achievement.
FIEO Kanpur Chapter discussed the above proposal with the MD, UPSIDC and pleaded for its approval under the ASIDE Scheme to provide smooth approach to the ICD from the Exporting Units located in these areas. The MD, UPSIDC felt convinced, prepared the project and got it included in the Agenda for the next Meeting of the ASIDE Committee in the Government of UP. If the project is finally approved by the Government of UP, it would be a significant achievement as it would facilitate movement of Export as well as all Industrial Cargo in the prominent Industrial belt of the city.
The Government of India with a Budget allocation of Rs 290 crore for exclusive development and modernization of leather sector framed the IDLS Scheme in November 2005 and the entire allocation is to be utilized by March 2007. FIEO Kanpur chapter followed up the matter with SIDBI, Kanpur, FDDI, Noida, and CLRI, Chennai and found that 70 applications under this scheme had so far been received and were in various stages of processing at aforesaid institutions. The matter in respect of all the applications was pursued with the respective parties who were contacted and advised to make good their shortcomings and necessary guidance was also provided by the Kanpur Chapter. As a result of the efforts, 11 applications have been finalized and the remaining ones are reported to be at various stages of finalisation. |
