Egyptian-Indian business council holds meeting

The Egyptian-Indian council held its first meeting Wednesday ahead of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi departure for home. Egypt and India have signed a memorandum of understanding for regulating the council's work and exchange of visits between the two sides to boost bilateral cooperation, Egyptian Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Hatem Saleh said. The minister invited Indian companies to do business in Egypt, especially in the fields of petrochemicals, textiles, construction, food, communications and IT. Addressing the opening session of the Egyptian-Indian business forum, Saleh said Morsi's visit to the Asian state is meant to open new vistas of cooperation at the political and economic domains through the agreements inked between the two sides. He urged Indian companies to invest in Egypt in the coming period with promises to offer all needed facilities. Saleh underlined that the government is adamant to proceed with economic reform policies, lure foreign direct investments and push forward the wheel of development. He noted that the Egyptian-Indian commercial committee agreed during its meeting on March 10 to up trade exchange from 5.4 billion dollars in 2011 to 8 billion dollars by 2015. President Mohamed Morsi attended the council meeting and had talks earlier in the day with heavyweight Indian businessmen. The president also met with a delegation of the board of Tata Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate operating in the fields of power generation from new and renewable resourcs, information technology, e-government, automobile industry, construction of low-cost housing units and investment in the tourism installations. During the visit, Morsi was accompanied by the ministers of industry, foreign trade, investment, tourism and communications.