China-Egypt held a one-day Meeting on China-Egypt Joint Working Mechanism for the Northwest Economic Zone in the Suez Bay in Cairo on December 6, stressing on related issues concerning how to further encourage Chinese companies to take part in the construction and development of the Northwest Economic Zone in the Suez Bay.

Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and Egyptian Minister of State for International Cooperation Aboulnaga attended the meeting. They both emphasized the great importance of the establishment of the coordination mechanism to promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Minister Bo Xilai pointed out that the cooperation in building the Northwest Economic Zone in the Suez Bay was a key consensus reached by leaders of the two countries. Both President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao set great store by the cooperation. The meeting was aiming at stimulating more extensive bilateral cooperation in the Northwest Economic Zone in the Suez Bay and creating necessary conditions for the access of the Chinese companies.

Minister Bo Xilai said continuously that China would encourage and guide Chinese companies to invest in the Northwest Economic Zone in the Suez Bay. He suggested that the Egypt quicken the infrastructure construction in the Zone and promulgate effective policies to attract FDI inflow.

Mr. Aboulnaga said that the Northwest Economic Zone in the Suez Bay had gifted geographical advantages, which connected the three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe. It was a very good port with preliminary infrastructure facilities. Egypt was looking forward to expanding the cooperation with China and embracing more investment from the Chinese business community.

Before the conclusion of the meeting, on behalf of their respective governments, Minister Bo Xilai and Minister of State Aboulnaga signed the Exchange of Letters on the Second Stage Project of Distance Learning in Egypt financed my Chinese aid worth of 30 million RMB yuan. 4 Chinese companies also signed with their Egyptian counterparts manufacturing agreements and letters of intent on cooperation with a total value of nearly USD 100 million.

China and Egypt started to discuss on the cooperation in the Economic Zone since 1994. In October 1998, bilateral cooperation projects started in building the Economic Zone.