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Daily News Egypt
17-06-2025
- Business
- Daily News Egypt
Reforms make Egypt ‘land of opportunity,' business leader tells Serbia
The head of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce has urged Serbian businesses to use Egypt as a joint manufacturing and logistics centre for exporting to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, citing recent economic reforms and extensive free trade agreements. Speaking at the Egyptian-Serbian Business Forum on Tuesday, Ahmed El-Wakil said that recent reforms, coordinated in 'a successful partnership between the government and the private sector,' have transformed Egypt. 'Thanks to these reforms, Egypt has once again become a land of promising opportunities,' he said. El-Wakil called on Serbian companies to leverage Egypt's domestic market of over 100 million consumers, which he said expands to more than 3 billion through tariff-free trade agreements with the Arab world, Africa, the European Union, EFTA, Mercosur, Turkey, and the United States. 'We must use Egypt as a centre for joint manufacturing and a logistics centre in order to export to all these markets, without customs and with low shipping costs,' he said. He identified several key sectors for cooperation where Serbia has advanced technology, including phosphate purification, the manufacturing of phosphoric acid and fertilisers, and the metal industries, particularly iron and steel. He added that negotiations on some of these areas began during a previous presidential visit to Serbia. Other potential areas for partnership include component manufacturing for the automotive and home appliance sectors, software development and localisation, river transport linked to multimodal logistics, and tourism. To facilitate this, El-Wakil announced that the Egyptian and Serbian chambers of commerce would appoint contact points to develop bilateral trade and investment and connect their members. The business leader also addressed Serbia's hosting of the Belgrade Expo in 2027. 'We have supported Egypt in various Expo exhibitions, from Milan to Dubai, and we affirm that we will spare no effort in ensuring full support for the Belgrade Expo in 2027,' he said, highlighting the experience of Egyptian construction and infrastructure firms that have executed major projects globally. 'The time for talk is over, and the time has come to move forward with concrete measures,' El-Wakil concluded. The forum was held in Egypt's New Administrative Capital and was chaired by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Serbian Prime Minister Guro Macut. In his opening remarks, El-Wakil noted that it was the third such high-level business meeting in two years, extending greetings on behalf of the Federation's more than 6 million members.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Yugo Could Make a Comeback, Although Probably Not to America
The Yugo is coming back! Maybe. Eventually. Probably not to America, though. Progress so far includes trademark rights and sketches of what a modern Yugo hatchback might look like. Keeping the price low will again be the goal, and underpinnings are likely to be sourced from another manufacturer. Did the Yugo stick around long enough to go from being the butt of jokes to laughing together with its detractors? At least a few did, judging from the way low-mileage examples of these little underpowered cars fetch far more at auction than they cost new off the showroom floor. The Yugo was unapologetically inexpensive, a double-edged sword, and while it actually sold pretty well, by 1992 it was gone from the U.S. market. But get your punchlines ready, because the Yugo could be coming back. Properly, the original car's full name was the Zastava Yugo GV, Zastava being an automaker with a long history in the former Yugoslavia. GV was meant to stand for Good Value, and at $3990 to start with a $389 destination charge, the Yugo was at least the least expensive car you could buy. Looking around at the average price of new cars these days, perhaps a little of that cheap and cheerful spirit wouldn't go amiss. University Professor Doctor Aleksandar Bjelić certainly seems to think so, as he is the driving force behind the potential resurrection of Yugo. As first reported by The Autopian, he has acquired the rights and trademarks to the Yugo brand. Bjelić lives in Germany but has Serbian roots, and he recently hired Darko Marčeta, a Serbian designer, to sketch out what a new Yugo might look like. Details are slim, as development is still very much in the concept phase. However, the plan is to reveal a running prototype at the Belgrade Expo in 2027, and a model of the car at the end of this year. The original Yugo was based heavily on the Fiat 127, and Bjelić has indicated that this new car will have underpinnings sourced from another, as-yet-unnamed manufacturer. The obvious choice would be Fiat again, as the former Yugo factory did in fact build the late Fiat 500L. Low price will again be the goal here, so a new Yugo is likely to get a small combustion engine rather than an EV skateboard platform. As to whether thrifty U.S. buyers will be able to once again park something unintentionally hilarious in their driveways, that's unlikely. The Yugo's reputation was badly damaged by quality issues when it was new, and while there's certainly a cult following for them, there's probably not a business case to sell them to the general public. In Eastern Europe, however, the Yugo (called the Koral there) was really quite popular, closing out its production run with a respectable 800,000 cars built. A Serbian-built rival to something such as the Dacia Sandero could be quite successful, especially to those who remember the Zastava nameplate more fondly. To burnish this image, one of Yugo's first PR stunts is going to be driving several classic Zastava models from Kragujevac in Serbia all the way to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The 6300-mile route is basically the same followed by a group of five Zastava 101s that performed the trek in 1975, as a showcase for durability. If the modern expedition can pull it off, it'll be a shot in the arm for brand credibility. Meanwhile, the Nissan Versa is currently the least expensive new car sold in the United States. It comes standard with a five-speed manual transmission for just $18,330. Adjusted for inflation, the original Yugo's price tag is only slightly more than half that price. Then again, nobody jokes about why the Versa has a rear window heater (for the Yugo, it was to keep your hands warm while you push). You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
