Waleid Gamal El-Dien, chairperson of the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), received Eric Chevalier, the French Ambassador to Cairo, and his accompanying delegation, at SCZONE's headquarters in Ain Sokhna. The meeting discussed the aspects of cooperation between the two parties and the preparations for the promotional tour that Gamal El-Dien will conduct at the end of this month to Paris and Marseille in France. The tour will include holding meetings with the French business community to demonstrate the available investment opportunities, especially in light of SCZONE's efforts to attract various global investments in the targeted industrial and service sectors, which are consistent with the needs of local and regional markets, in addition to the possibility of cooperation in the field of green fuel, which the European continent seeks to secure its needs for. "SCZONE includes four industrial zones and six seaports on the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea equipping with a world-class infrastructure, in addition to the strategy of the integration between ports, industrial zones, and logistics areas, which provided a model to support supply chains and enhance the movement of trade and industry. Consequently, this readiness contributed to making SCZONE a hub for green fuel industries, and the strategic location and readiness of seaports that enabled SCZONE to provide ships' bunkering services with fossil fuels and green fuel." Gamal El-Dien said. "SCZONE has 21 targeted industrial and service sectors. The industrial zones are qualified to accommodate various types of industries. We have successful cooperation with French investments in several fields, including glass manufacturing, and contracting to operate one of the terminals in Sokhna Port for a global consortium that includes a French company, in addition to the possibility of cooperation in the field of green fuel production, and its complementary and feeding industries, which is a common goal for SCZONE and the European continent, SCZONE supports its investors through a set of financial and non-financial incentives, in addition to the its strategic location which reduces transportation costs, and the availability of various energy sources and trained labor at competitive prices. These factors are among the most important pillars of attracting investments, enabling investors to achieve the targeted profit margins in various industrial sectors," Gamal El-Dien added. "We appreciate the warm reception within SCZONE's Sokhna premises. We also appreciate the efforts made by SCZONE to create an attractive investment environment. The availability of trained labour is one of the most important incentives for investors, in addition to the fact that the opportunities available for investment inside SCZONE are consistent with the desire of many French companies to expand. There is a need to inform the French business community of the available investment opportunities inside SCZONE while demonstrating the vision for the targeted sectors and aspects of cooperation during the upcoming promotional tour," Chevalier said. Following the meeting, the delegation headed to a field visit to the Sokhna Port, to explore the development work that aims to make it one of the pivotal ports on the Red Sea to serve global trade movement and support supply chains.
