The Spanish Institute for Export and Investment (ICEX) and the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in Cairo are organising the second edition of the Egypt-Spain Multilateral Partnership Forum, which will be held in Cairo from 27 to 28 September. This conference is considered the biggest Spanish event organised in Cairo since the visit of the Spanish Prime Minister to Cairo last December, during which a declaration of financial cooperation was signed between Egypt and Spain for €400m to finance projects in Egypt. The first edition — which was held in Cairo in March 2017 — was very successful and fruitful, boasting more than 320 participants, including Egyptian ministers, heads of public institutions, international financing institutions, and the executives of the biggest Egyptian engineering companies in the construction and infrastructure fields. The Multilateral Partnership Egypt-Spain Forum in its second edition is a clear message from the Spanish government confirming its continuous commitment to support the Egyptian economy and enhance bilateral economic and trade relations. The two-day forum mainly targets companies working in the fields of railway transportation, electricity and renewable energies, and water treatment. A carefully selected high-level Spanish business delegation from Spain's top pioneers in the fields of transportation, energy, and water will participate to explore new trade and investment opportunities in Egypt and discuss partnerships with Egyptian companies. Over the two days, several seminars and panels will be held in the aforementioned three sectors. The participants will give the Spanish delegation a thorough idea about the strategies of the Egyptian government in each sector and the main projects in the pipeline to be executed over the next few years in order to explore new investment opportunities and projects in Egypt and also create areas of cooperation between Egyptian and Spanish companies. The first day will discuss the transportation and railway sector in Egypt, while the second day will cover the remaining two sectors. Following the seminars, bilateral business meetings will be held between the Egyptian and Spanish companies to discuss partnership and means of cooperation in projects to be carried out in Egypt and funded by international financial institutions and the Spanish government. The opening ceremony will be held on the morning of Tuesday 27 September in Cairo in the presence of several Egyptian ministers. On the Spanish side, Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Xiana Méndez Bértolo — who accompanied the Spanish Prime Minister during his state-visit to Cairo last December — will be leading the Spanish business delegation and will hold several meetings with some Egyptian ministers to discuss bilateral relations and means to enhance and foster the excellent ties between the two countries.
