29-07-2025
Egypt eyes Kuwait for industrial investment
Egypt is planning to establish joint industrial zones with Kuwait with the aim of attracting capital into the manufacturing sector to support its 2030 industrial strategy.
Egypt's industry minister Kamil Al-Wazir unveiled the project during talks in the Gulf OPEC oil producer last week, Kuwait's press reported.
Kuwait, a founding OPEC member, is already a major investor in Egypt along with the other oil-rich Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
Al-Wazir, who headed a mission of businessmen representing 17 Egyptian companies, said the proposed industrial zones could be established in both Egypt and Kuwait.
'This is a strategic initiative…it aims to promote exports by Egypt and Kuwait to other countries,' he said in comments published by Al-Qabas and other local dailies.
'The zone in Egypt will be the corner stone for scores of promising industrial investment opportunities that will support Egypt's industrial vision 2030.'
Assistant director of Kuwait's chamber of commerce and industry Firas Al-Oudeh said after the talks that Kuwait is one of the largest and oldest investors in Egypt.
His figures showed more than 1,500 Kuwaiti companies operate in that country and Kuwait's investment in Egypt tops $20 billion.
'These investments cover a wide variety of sectors, including finance, banks, tourism, industry and construction…we expect a large increase in these investments in the future given the emerging large opportunities in the Egyptian market,' he said.
In April, Egyptian officials said there is a plan to attract over $6.5 billion in new Kuwaiti investments by the end of 2026, with $4 billion expected to be secured in 2025.
The push came as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited Kuwait as part of a regional tour that also included Qatar.
This followed Egypt's agreement with Qatar on a $7.5 billion direct investment package, set to be executed in the near future.
Officials said the expected Kuwaiti investments would span a wide range of sectors, including the automotive industry, tourism, real estate development, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, logistics, infrastructure, agriculture, banking, telecommunications, petrochemicals, food production, transportation, roads, and ports.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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