Egypt mulls industrial zone for Indian Cos

New Delhi: Buoyed by plans of firms like Reliance Industries and Tata Chemicals to invest in Egypt, the key Middle East country has proposed to establish an industrial zone meant exclusively for Indian companies.

'I welcome the Egyptian proposal of establishing an industrial zone exclusively for Indian companies,' Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said at a luncheon meeting here of apex industry chambers with visiting Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

Reliance Industries has plans for a plastic manufacturing unit, while the Tatas want to set up a fertiliser plan with an investment of $1.2 billion.

The Aditya Birla group, ONGC Videsh, Gujarat State Petroleum and GAIL have established their presence in Egypt, which stands as a hub in the Middle East and the Arab world.

Seeking further investment from Indian companies, which have so far put in $800 million in Egypt, Mubarak said: 'Egypt has emerged as one of the leading economies in Africa and the Middle East; and is ranked as the most attractive destination for foreign direct investment in the region.'

He said bilateral trade has tripled in the last four years.

'We have managed to diversify our trade to cover a wide range of goods and I am sure there is room for further expansion.'

Egypt's strategically important location and its trade agreements with the European Union and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) throw up good opporunities for Indian businessmen.