Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, has affirmed that France is one of the largest investors in Egypt as there are more than 160  French companies operating in the country with a total investment of over EUR 4 bn, Invest-Gate reports.

Nasr has also hailed the doubling of French investments in distinctive fields in 2017, including the infrastructure, transport, industry, telecommunications and information technology, energy, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to a ministerial statement.

“The total current economic cooperation portfolio between the two states amounts to EUR 1.2 bn, in addition to a joint program with the European Union that exceeds a total of EUR 1 bn,” the minister added.

This came at a round table in the economic forum on the future of economic relations between Egypt and France, held by the Arab World Institute in Paris, in the presence of the institute’s Head Jack Lang, Secretary of State to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance Delphine Gény-Stephann, and Ambassador of France to Cairo Stephen Routier, the statement elucidates.

The minister notes that following the ratification of the new investment law, the number of established French companies are abundant, and a larger number of companies expanded in the Egyptian market.

Nasr also refers that Egypt has achieved success in the economic reform program during the past four years, winning the trust of international institutions and investors.