Recent Economic Performance  A.   The Cairo Investment Forum:  1.      As part of the Egyptian governmental efforts to accelerate reform that aims at improving the investment climate and competitiveness of the local economy and attract more FDI; and building upon the successes achieved by the World Economic Forum held in Sharm el Sheikh from the 20th to the 22nd of last May, as well as the Euromoney Conference that was held on the 11th and 12th of September; the Cairo Investment Forum, a joint Egyptian, Arab and Foreign investment conference, will be held in the nation’s capital on the 11th and 12th of December. 2.       This forum is to be organized by the Ministry of Investment and the Lebanese Iktissad Wal-Aamal group with the participation of more than 1000 high level representatives from Egyptian, Arab and International investment and financial institutions.  3.      The Forum will focus on the a number of topics including: An Overview of the Egyptian Economy. Privatization & Future Vision Investment Climate & Fiscal and Administrative Reform. 4.      The forum will also tackle investment opportunities in the following areas : Mega Projects. Banking and Finance. Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals. Industry and Agriculture. Tourism & Services. Information Technology and Telecommunication Industry. Infrastructure & real estate development B.    Cooperation with the International Financial Institutions: 1.      During the joint annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) that are being held in Singapore on 19th and 20th of September, the Minister of Investment met with the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF where they discussed several issues including the phases of the financial sector reform, the positive indicators resulting from foreign direct and indirect investment, increased revenues from state-owned asset sales as well as structural changes aiming at increasing efficiency and attracting investment. 2.      It is worth mentioning that the government aims to attract more FDI and to raise investment revenues in order to increase economic growth. Within this trend, the IMF officials praised the economic performance that resulted in an increase in the growth rate to reach 6.9 % compared to 3.5 per cent in the previous two years. The IMF also confirmed its support for the Egyptian government’s efforts to revitalize and implement the reform program. 3.       Moreover, a delegation from the IFC is expected to visit Egypt in order to discuss cooperation in the financial sector related services specifically in insurance and real estate financing, as well as improving rules of transparency and companies governance. The last two years witnessed a 300 million USD in aid assistance offered by the institution in order to finance growth projects in Egypt, stemming from a conviction regarding the increased importance of the Egyptian market as an effective business center in the region. 4.      Accordingly, the two sides agreed upon preparing a detailed report on the business activity in Egypt as well as holding an international conference in Egypt to discuss WB methodology in categorizing various countries in business activity field. 5.      On the other hand, the vice president of the World Bank, who is also the President of the Multilateral MIGA confirmed the agency’s continuous support in attracting FDI and directing technical aid programs to the Egyptian market. She also expressed her interest in participating in the Cairo Investment forum that will be held in Cairo on the 10th and 11th of next December. C.     Developments in the Energy Sector:   1.      The South Valley region of Egypt is witnessing greater attention from foreign oil companies, intent on exploring this virgin part of Egypt. In this respect, the Minister of Petroleum formally signed two new agreements on the 17th of September on behalf the Egyptian South Valley Holding Company for  oil exploration in the area of West Esh Al Mallaha in the Eastern desert and West Kom Ombo in the Western desert with Aminex Petroleum Egypt of Great Britain and Pan–Pacific Petroleum of Australia respectively . 2.      The first agreement for the exploration in West Esh Al Mallaha covers an area of 1328 sq Km with the obligation to drill 7 oil wells over a period of eight years with a total spending amount of 16 million USD and a payment bond of 2 million USD. 3.      The second agreement in West Kom Ombo covers an area of 42291 Sq Km with the obligation to drill 4 oil wells over a period of eight years with a total spending amount of 12 million USD and a payment bond of 100 thousand USD. D.     Cooperation with China : 1.      As part of Egyptian efforts to multiply bilateral trade between China and Egypt to reach 5 billion USD by 2010, agreements have been concluded between the two sides for the establishment of joint venture projects with total capital amounting to 2 billion USD. 2.      In this respect, a delegation of Egyptian businessmen visiting China succeeded in signing a number of joint venture establishment agreements with total Chinese investments of 2.7 billion USD, comprising the establishment of a cable manufacturing  and a cement factory, in addition to an Aluminium production complex. 3.      The two sides also agreed that the Chinese government and Chinese companies would finance a number of projects including a large industrial zone specifically for Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs). An agreement was also made regarding the encouragement of technical cooperation in the granite and textiles industry and the establishment of a center for the promotion of Egyptian exports to China including rice and citrus produce, thereby benefiting from Egypt's significant geographical position and its free trade agreements with Europe, Africa and the Middle east. 4.      On a similar note, representatives of the two governments agreed on the establishment of a 500 million USD central exhibition complex outside of Cairo as well as earmarking 15 million USD to establish a factory for recycling granite waste using Chinese machinery, and the offering of 20 million USD for assistance in the transfer of Chinese technology in the field of construction materials and textiles. Finally, the two countries agreed to construct an industrial zone in Egypt to facilitate joint investment projects in the fields of textiles and pharmaceuticals.  E.   Cooperation with Japan : 1.      During her visit to Egypt on September 17th , the Japanese Minister of Environment discussed with The Minister of International Cooperation the commencement of plans for establishing the Japanese university for science and technology in Egypt to be initiated by undertaking the related feasibility studies. 2.      Meanwhile, issues related to cooperation in environmental improvement were also discussed, as well as the loans and grants offered by Japan to encourage industrial projects to comply with environmental regulations in sewage and drinking water fields. It is worth mentioning that during 2006, a loan agreement of 41 million USD was signed with the Japanese side to finance a project for combating environmental pollution. This project aims at establishing a sustainable financing mechanism in specified areas of high pollution rates especially in Greater Cairo an Alexandria, as well as supplying new production lines with modern and clean technology, and heavy equipment needed to treat dangerous industrial waste. F.    Developing Egypt's Export Capacity : 1.      Egypt’s non petroleum exports reached a 12 month high with an increase of 46 % to reach 8.6 million USD, meanwhile industrial development reached 6% and is expected to reach 9% by mid 2008, thereby increasing the prospect of creating new job opportunities. 2.      In this respect, the government is employing a number of specific mechanisms for the facilitation of acquiring land for Industrial investment and for the support and development of human resources. The government will also bear the burden of sharing the cost for the training and retraining of private sector employees, redeveloping the standardization process and quality control measures, as well as reforming the internal trading framework in Egypt and encouraging exports through a specific fund for that purpose. 3.      On the other hand, a research is currently being conducted to unite the various monitoring facilities into one accountable body to prevent redundancy and also enable the independence of the Federation of Industries, and hence transform it into a non-governmental organization comprising various representatives from the manufacturing sector in Egypt. G.   Cooperation with Russia : 1.      The Egyptian minister of Trade and Industry discussed with the Russian ambassador to Cairo on the 12 of September, the preparation of a framework for joint economic cooperation between the two sides to be completed in the coming period for the promotion of joint ventures between the two nations, as well as the development of trade relations and the monitoring of negotiations regarding the FTA between Egypt and Russia. 2.      The framework also calls upon cooperation in the fields of electricity, energy and petrochemicals, and transport (specifically railways), as well as developing the Helwan Steel complex and creating a joint industrial zone for exporting purposes, 3.      On the other hand, a protocol has been signed between the Egyptian and Russian agricultural quarantines whereby, Russian experts can inspect Egyptian agricultural exports to Russia prior to shipment.