Future co-operation opportunities in the fields of industry, green hydrogen and renewable energy featured high during a high-profile meeting yesterday.
During a meeting on Friday with British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley, Industry and Transport Minister Kamel el-Wazir asserted the depth of Egyptian-UK ties, saying he is looking forward to expanding co-operation between the two sides in the industry field.
the two sides reviewed the latest developments related to activating the industrial and business partnership agreement, signed in 2022, to shore up co-operation in the industrial and logistics fields, as well as the memorandum of understanding, signed in 2021, to boost co-operation in the field of research and development (R&D) in technology and advanced industries.
Wazir also discussed the latest developments related to co-operation in the East and West Nile Monorail project. The 56.5-km-long East Nile Line connects the Administrative Capital to Nasr City, while the 42-km-long West Nile Line connects the 6th of October City to the Arab League headquarters in downtown Cairo.
He stressed the utmost importance of the monorail project, which is being implemented in Egypt for the first time. Wazir said it is a major shift in public transportation as it is an icon of Sustainable Green Transportation. The monorail is an efficient, cost-effective, environment-friendly mass transit system.
He further noted that the battery-powered electrified monorail system reduces environmental pollution rates, relieves traffic congestion on main axes and highways. It also encourages passengers to use them instead of private cars to reduce fuel consumption.
Wazir also underlined that the East Nile Monorail, which will be entirely autonomous, will undergo a trial operation, without passengers, in October from the New Administrative Capital to Al-Mosheer Tantawy station.
For his part, the UK diplomat stressed the importance of co-operation with the Egyptian side in all domains, particularly in the transport and industry.
He also reviewed a number of UK projects and factories in Egypt, saying the UK companies are keen on co-operating with the Egyptian side in the green hydrogen and clean and renewable energy.