Egyptian Investments in India Value US$ 49M: Ambassador

Indian Ambassador to Egypt Rahul Kulshreshth revealed that Egyptian companies invest more than US$ 49 million in India.

During a press conference held in the Indian Embassy in Cairo, Kulshreshth pointed out that Egypt has been traditionally one of India’s most important trading partners in the African continent.

"The bilateral trade volume between the two countries had shown consecutive positive growth from 2005-06 to 2012-13, taking the trade from US$ 1.2 billion to its peak of US$ 5.45 billion," he added. "Trade volume starting from 2013-14 gradually declined from US$ 4.95 billion to US$ 4.77 billion in 2014-15 and US$ 3.23 billion in 2016-17.

However, the trade has witnessed positive growth again from 2017-18 on wards to reach US$ 3.68 billion in 2017-18 and US $ 4.55 billion in 2018-19."

Kulshreshth referred to some of the Egyptian companies investing in India, saying "El Sewedy group established its presence in Noida (Uttar Pradesh) in 2013 for manufacturing of smart electric meters. KAPCI Coatings set up their manufacturing plant in Bangalore (Karnataka) to produce car paints with an investment of US $ 20 million. Modern Waterproofing Group (Bitumode) is a multinational group of companies that are engaged in manufacturing a wide range of products for the construction industry including waterproofing membranes and protection boards. It has manufacturing facility in Dahej (Gujarat)."

Talking about the items imported from Egypt he said: "India's top imported items from Egypt for 2018-19 were: Crude Petroleum (55.6%), Manufactured Fertilizers (7.6%), Inorganic Chemicals (6.7%) and Crude Fertilizers (5.0%)."

He stated the Indian investments in Egypt reached more than US$ 3.3 billion. "Indian companies are operating in virtually all the major sectors of the Egyptian economy including textiles and garments, power, chemicals/specialty chemicals, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, information technology, paints, consumer goods, healthcare, PVC, caustic soda, PET Resin, plastics, paper, packaging, auto, and auto-component.

Over 450 Indian companies are trading and operating in Egypt, out of which around 50 Indian companies are in manufacturing and construction with a combined investment of more than US$ 3.3 billion, he said"