Sisi reasserts state orientation to foster tech localisation

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has reiterated the country’s firm orientation to boost the pace of industry and technology localisation and also to develop constructive co-operation with the private sector as an important driver for economic growth.

The president’s remark came while meeting the visiting Chairman of the leading Spanish train manufacturer Talgo, Carlos Oriol, on Sunday, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said. Transport Minister Kamel el-Wazir and Talgo’s regional director Mohamed Labib attended the meeting.

Existing and future co-operation with Talgo was the topic for consideration during the meeting, with special emphasis on studying the potential of building an integrated factory for the Spanish company, Spokesman Radi said.

In his remarks, President Sisi stressed the state’s keenness on developing constructive co-operation with the private sector, through increasing investments and transferring knowledge and expertise.

Such an attitude, President Sisi explained, serves Egypt’s comprehensive development process and the concomitant upgrading of the country’s entire infrastructure especially including the transport sector.

In this connection, President Sisi noted that an opportunity exists for establishing an industrial partnership with Talgo for the localisation of train manufacturing in Egypt in the light of the country’s strategy to lengthen its railways by 2000 more kilometres in the coming years. Such partnership, the president added, would also imply benefiting from the Spanish company’s advanced administrative techniques.

During the meeting, Talgo’s chief voiced interest in expanding its existing projects of co-operation with Egypt in view of  the huge and promising investment opportunities in the public transport sector in Egypt as a gate for increasing its investments in the Arab region and Africa, Spokesman Radi said.

Oriol also lauded the progress Egypt achieved through economic reforms, which reflected positively on improving the  investment climate, the spokesman added.