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JLCC
- April 16, 2023
Engineer Mohamed Abdel Karim, Chairman of the Industrial Development Authority, held a meeting with Ahmed Rizk, Acting Director of the Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization “UNIDO” in Egypt, and Prof. Dr. Yemen Al Hamaki, Professor of Economics at Ain Shams University, to discuss joint cooperation with the aim of strengthening capabilities The competitiveness of the industrial sector to make Egypt a regional center for industrialization, in addition to studying ways to enhance industrial development efforts in Egypt with the help of international organizations and the research and academic side.
Abdel Karim praised the role of (UNIDO) in its support for comprehensive and sustainable industrial development in Egypt, especially in the areas related to industrial policies, explaining that modernizing industrial development policies is a top priority for the state, as it would bring about a quantum leap for the Egyptian industry, based on the existing cooperation between Egypt and the organization.
He also expressed the Authority’s interest in getting to know the vision of the research and academic side of industrial policies, represented by the Egyptian universities, due to its importance in the analytical aspect.
He explained that these efforts aim to support industrial localization programs, prepare Egypt as a regional center for a number of industries, and enhance the competitiveness of Egyptian products in the local and global markets.
He also added that the industrial development policies are based on creating an attractive industrial investment climate and working on providing more facilities to encourage investment and achieve sustainable development and the transition towards a green economy. A high additive with the recycling of all waste in a manner consistent with the principle of sustainability and environmental protection.
The Chairman of the Commission highlighted that the Commission’s plan will focus on developing specialized industrial cities such as the city of “Shaq Al-Tha’ban” for the production of marble and granite, to become a model industrial city for the manufacture and export of marble, in addition to the city of Al-Rubiki for leather, as well as studying and determining the comparative advantages of the governorates in terms of location and natural resources to determine the areas Promising industrial investment and capable of attracting major international investments to develop and raise its efficiency, such as “Kom Oshim” and “Kom Abu Radi” and others.
He also reviewed the authority’s efforts towards digital transformation and simplifying and automating procedures to achieve efficiency and speed for the benefit of investors, indicating that the authority has developed the industrial inspections system to speed up the completion and issuance of licenses and the industrial register by unifying the inspection form through an electronic application using digital tablets, adding that following up on the issuance of all licenses and records It is based on audited databases and is monitored first-hand through an electronic follow-up system, Dashboard, in order to monitor the requests received by the Authority, the services provided and the time of their implementation, and to address bottlenecks and obstacles in an urgent and effective manner.
In this context, he also dealt with the authority’s efforts to automate the allocation of industrial lands through the digital map for investment in Egypt, which allows the investor to view industrial investment opportunities and to choose and reserve plots of land electronically from a distance, and the allocation takes place according to mechanisms and standards that are applied automatically with complete transparency, explaining that it has been linked Map location on the Authority’s website in coordination with the General Authority for Investment. The Chairman of the Authority confirmed that it is seeking to expand the industrial developer project to involve the private sector in supporting the state’s efforts to develop and manage industrial zones, explaining that any new offering will take place through a balanced tripartite contract between the Authority, the developer and the investor, in a way that guarantees the rights of all parties.
For his part, Ahmed Rizk, acting director of the UNIDO office in Egypt, stressed the organization’s keenness to continue the existing cooperation with the Egyptian government, especially in the areas of policy support, capacity building and the implementation of industrial projects, taking into account aspects of sustainability and the optimal use of renewable energy resources. The organization welcomes cooperation with Egypt in updating the national strategy for industry, as well as in the field of vocational training, and the importance of the participation of international organizations in the completion of the industrial development strategy in cooperation with the authority, such as specialized international organizations, international financial institutions and donors, as well as UNIDO.
In this context, he also stressed the importance of the ongoing work to develop an industrial road map through the establishment of a joint work unit between Egypt and UNIDO, and to identify representatives of the Egyptian side from the concerned authorities. In the implementation of the content of the State Partnership Program (PCP) signed between UNIDO and the Egyptian side in 2021, with priority given to a number of vital industrial sectors such as electronics, furniture, leather and food, adding that next June will witness the holding of a conference on sustainable industrial zones, on the sidelines of which a planning training will be held. Industrial cities. The conference will also witness the promotion of investment opportunities in industrial zones in Egypt.
On the other hand, Dr. Yumna Al-Hamaki stressed the need to come up with a clear plan of action that addresses the problems and challenges of the industry and define a sound trade policy consistent with industrial policies, including, for example, amending customs tariffs for industry inputs, reducing production costs and enhancing competitiveness. In this context, she suggested forming a joint committee. Between the Customs Authority and the Industrial Development Authority to come up with radical solutions and unify tracks. She also indicated the importance of focusing in setting the strategy on a number of promising industries as a starting point for tangible development, such as the furniture, leather, medicinal and aromatic plants industries, as well as focusing on a number of specific industrial zones, especially those related to small industries, to advance them, improve quality, and produce tangible results in a short time.