Introduction
– Mr Chairman, Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished members of the Council, I am delighted to be back in Egypt in the company of my good friend His Excellency Rachid Mohamed Rachid.

– Your Excellency, I wish to thank you for your kind invitation to attend this important gathering.  Your drive and dedication to bring economic reform and prosperity to your country are truly admirable.  I know that your continued and active support of the EBBC is greatly appreciated by the people in this room.

– I would also like to share my thanks with the Minister to thank members of the Council for your commitment.  The senior status of the Council members present here today reflects the strength of the business relationship between our two countries.

– I am in no doubt that business councils play a key role in developing bilateral relationships.  The Egyptian-British Business Council celebrates its tenth anniversary as the voice of British and Egyptian business, and goes from strength to strength.

– In particular I want to pay tribute to Mohamed Nosseir for his outstanding contribution to the work of the Council since its inception.  I also wish to welcome Charles Bland, the recently appointed UK Chair, to this his first meeting in his new role.       

Economic Reform and Progress
– 2007 has been another very good year for the Egyptian economy, vindicating the pro-business reforms initiated by Prime Minister Nazif’s government. 
 
– Over the past three years, the government has cut customs duties, reformed the taxation system and currency market, and introduced anti-monopoly legislation.  We have seen the expansion of the privatisation process, including in the banking sector. I have just come from a Barclays event Branch opening.

– The reward for these bold measures has been levels of economic growth unseen in a decade – around 7% for three years. The recent World Bank Doing Business Report ranked Egypt as the Number 1 reformer. 

– There is a new feeling of confidence in the business community.  Foreign direct investment increased from $3.9 billion in 2004/05 to $11.1 billion in 2006/07.  Egypt now enjoys 1% of all FDI flows in the world. 5 years ago it was 1/20th of 1%.

– The Egyptian government should be rightly proud of its achievements, and UK business should be proud of its support.  The British government has provided advice and training in a number of areas – anti-money laundering, tax awareness, inflation targeting, land registration, mortgage finance, FDI statistics, exports – and we will continue to support Egyptian efforts to liberalise the economy.

Challenges
– Now that Egypt is firmly on the growth path, the challenge is to sustain growth while ensuring that the benefits are more evenly spread.  For all the progress made, the disparities are still too wide for comfort.  More Egyptians need to experience directly the progress that has been made and support the argument for further reform.  As one cabinet minister put it, the plight of the poor is what keeps him awake at night.

– Social justice and the interests of the urban and rural poor were the main themes at the recent National Democratic Party congress.  Addressing the economic hardships faced daily by millions of Egyptians is rightly the government’s top priority today.  Business has both a strong interest and a moral responsibility to be a partner in this effort.

UK/Egypt Trade and FDI
– I said that UK business should be proud of its role.  Britain is the single largest foreign investor in Egypt, with some 600 plus UK-invested companies operating in Egypt.  Cumulative investments are estimated to be in excess of £10 Billion.  We are also the largest source of foreign tourists, Beatrice and myself included – a million plus UK visitors in 2006 – and Egypt in 2007 looks to have been even more popular with the British traveller.

– In 2006 bilateral trade in goods alone exceeded £1 Billion. Egyptian visible exports to the UK increased by an extraordinary 80% in this period to reach £677 million.

– I am confident that we will see more British firms investing in and trading with Egypt as economic liberalisation continues to open up new opportunities.  It is encouraging that most major investors are consolidating their investments and reinvesting for the future – for example, in the energy sector.   

– We also have new entrants to Egypt:

– A UK thermostat manufacturer called Diamond H Controls recently commissioned a market research report from the Embassy.  This led to a £600,000 breakthrough into exporting to Egypt.

– The Royal Mint has signed a three year contract with the Egyptian Mint to supply coins to Egypt.

– The UK tractor manufacturer Massey Ferguson was introduced by the Embassy’s trade team to an Egyptian partner, with whom Massey is now busy setting up a joint venture assembly plant in Cairo. 

– UK companies are increasingly looking to Egypt as a regional hub for operations, with AstraZeneca being one recent example.  Egypt is positioning itself as a prime location for offshore business services, and UK companies have been quick to recognise this.  Vodafone services its Australian customers from its Egypt operation, and Logica uses Egypt as a hub for its international operations.

Public-Private Partnerships
– One area of joint endeavour are Public-Private Partnerships, which will be key to the development of Egypt’s infrastructure and economy, with health and education being immediate priorities. 

– The UK is a pioneer in this area.  We have the largest programme in the world for delivering public services through public-private partnerships. 

– Since 1992, some 800 projects have been signed under the private finance initiative in the UK, representing £40 billion of investment.  We stand ready to offer practical advice and guidance.
Another area – Education and Skills.

– Egypt’s ambitious growth plans are underpinned by a very strong focus on education and skills – possibly the Egyptian government’s number one reform priority.  Egypt needs a highly skilled workforce to ensure sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all, thus spreading more evenly the benefits of that growth.  The British experience is valuable here.  We are fortunate that our system of education is highly regarded in Egypt, and there are already strong academic and institutional links in place between our countries.

– In 2006, more than 18,000 Egyptian students took UK examinations and qualifications, and the British Council Egypt organises examinations on behalf of 80 UK awarding bodies, as well as being very active in the area of educational reform.

Financial Services
– A fine example of co-operation is the recent signing of an agreement in Cairo between the Egyptian Capital Markets Authority and the Securities and Investment Institute of the UK to introduce a new Licensed Individual Regime.  The 3,500 personnel working in the Egyptian capital markets will study to obtain this new qualification, raising professional standards in the Financial Services industry.  The qualification will be available in both English and Arabic. 

– The EBBC has an increasingly important role to play in working with UK partners to help to develop engagement in the area of vocational education.

– An EBBC master class will take place tomorrow morning addressing small business development and skills training.  This demonstrates real vision by the Council, and is an area I would encourage further development within the framework of the EBBC.

– I look forward to attending the initial session of the education and skills roundtable this afternoon, and will listen with great interest to the EBBC’s deliberations in this crucial area.

Climate Change/Renewable Energy
– I would like to lastly comment on the growing dialogue and co-operation between my country and Egypt on environmental issues, particularly renewable energy and carbon trading under the EU emissions reduction scheme.

– We all know that climate change is a problem for today, not tomorrow.  If we do not start to take global action, we all stand to lose as much as any country. 

– And we support Research and Development to encourage the evolution of relevant technologies that will reduce emissions.

– I am very pleased that the EBBC has taken this opportunity to share valuable knowledge and experience, and identify common ground where we can develop partnerships to meet this challenge. The British Government and the private sector are fully committed to working together with their counterparts in Egypt to reduce carbon emissions. 

Closing remarks
– Exciting times lie ahead, and I have every confidence that the Egyptian-British Business Council will continue to make an important contribution to the reform agenda and to strengthening the bilateral relationship still further.

– I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Council every success for the future.  To the next ten years, and beyond!

Thank you.