Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and the Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer chaired on Thursday 27/04/2023 roundtable meetings of the Egyptian-Austrian Business Community.

It was attended by high-ranking officials from the governments of the two countries, and representatives of the Egyptian and Austrian business communities.

From the Egyptian side, it was attended by Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Transport, Dr. Hani Swailem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mr. Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairman of the General Authority for the Development of the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and Mr. Hossam Haiba , CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, Mr. Ahmed El-Wakeel, President of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Alaa Ezz, Secretary-General of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, and Mr. Ahmos Rabie, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Ibda” Company for Project Development.

On the Austrian side, the round table was attended by Mr. Norbert Totschnig, Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Territory and Water Management, Ambassador Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Austrian Secretary General for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Carmen Goby, Vice President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Georg Stillfried, and the Austrian Ambassador to Egypt. This is in addition to a high-level delegation of Austrian companies included a group of CEOs and representatives of the largest companies operating in the sectors of health and medicine, engineering industries, oil and gas, agriculture, technology, railways and transportation, and water treatment.

Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, delivered a speech during the round table, at the beginning of which he expressed his welcome to Mr. Karl Nehammer, Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, and his accompanying delegation. He, also, extended his thanks to the Austrian Embassy in Egypt, and everyone who participated in organizing the round table for its important role in promoting and strengthening bilateral relations between Egypt and Austria.

For his parrt, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer asserted that his country has established "excellent" ties with Egypt which brought about strong and successful economic relations between the two sides, noting that their volume of trade exchange hit 400 million euros last year.

Nehammer praised the long-standing relations between the two countries and his recent meeting with Egypt's Ambassador in Vienna Mohammed El Molla.

He cited some of the successful examples of Austria's investments in Egypt including ANDRITZ HYDRO company, which was involved in a variety of hydropower projects in Egypt, as well as Frequentis which is an Austrian high-tech company that develops communication and information systems in fields such as air traffic management and public safety.

The Chancellor also asserted that there are vast opportunities for expanding economic relations especially in the fields of water management, environmental technology, health, education and transport infrastructure.

The chancellor also welcomed the strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union in the field of green hydrogen which was signed during the 2022 UN climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh (COP27).
Nehammer asserted that his country is willing to support Egypt's economic aspirations and exchange expertise in all fields of concern to the Egyptian side.

On the sidelines of their participation in the round table meeting of the Egyptian-Austrian business community, Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly held a meeting with Mr. Karl Nehammer, Chancellor of Austria, and his accompanying delegation.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Hani Sweilem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, and Ambassador Mohamed El-Mulla, Egyptian Ambassador to Vienna.Madbouli said there are opportunities in the field of training the Egyptian workforce for joining the Austrian labor market including special training courses on the language as well as getting acquainted with the Austrian community.

Madbouli said that there are a variety of cooperation opportunities between Egypt and Austria in the coming phase especially the fields of green hydrogen, clean energy, desalination, agriculture, water resources management as well as industry.

Nehammer, for his part, praised the fruitful outcome of his talks earlier in the day with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi as they exchanged viewpoints regarding a variety of issues of common interest.

He also said that he is visiting Egypt together with representatives of 15 major Austrian companies, a matter which reflects Austria's interest in enhancing economic and trade ties with Egypt especially in the fields mentioned by the Egyptian premier.

Talks also covered cooperation between the two countries in the agricultural wastewater treatment as well as increasing Austrian tourist movement to Egypt.

On the sidelines of the Egyptian-Austrian Business Forum in Cairo, Egypt’s National Authority for Railways signed a contract with Austrian company Voestalpine to manufacture and supply railway switches

The signing ceremony was attended by Austria's Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who is currently on an official visit to Egypt, as well as Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir.

Madbouly stated that the signing of this contract is in line with the political leadership's directives to continuously develop and modernize the railway system according to the latest global systems, as well as to localize the production industry of railway switches in Egypt.

For his part, Minister of Transportation Kamel El-Wazir said that establishing the joint venture between the two sides aims to achieve self-sufficiency for the local market in switches, especially in light of the increasing demand for them.

Under the signed contract, El-Wazir noted that Voestalpine Egypt for Railway Switch Technology will produce up to 300 switches annually according to global specifications.

Additionally, a new production line that is provided with state-of-the art equipment will be established to produce switches for the fast electric train network.

Voestalpine AG, whose annual business volume amounts to 15 billion euros, is one of the largest companies in the world in the production of railway switches of all types (diesel-electric).

It has 66 branches worldwide and employs 50,000 people.

On the sidelines of the forum, Egypt and Hungary also signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding between the Egyptian National Railways (ENR), Austria’s rail track manufacturer Plasser & Theurer, and Plasser Egypt on repairing and upgrading 34 railway maintenance machines of the ENR.

A maintenance contract for the future repair- for the period of 15 years- of 34 machines, out of which 30 are currently owned by the railway authority and four others still being manufactured by the Austrian company, has been reached as well.

Egypt and Austria signed a letter of intent to enhance the economic cooperation between the two countries.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer witnessed the signing of the letter of intent on the sidelines of the Egyptian-Austrian business forum taking place in Cairo.

During the signing ceremony, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat asserted that the new letter paves the way for a new phase of joint work between Egypt and Austria through the expansion of cooperation between the two countries to include further fields of mutual interest.