Minister for the Middle East, Alastair Burt, will arrive
in Cairo on Wednesday to meet with his Egyptian
counterparts to discuss British-Egyptian cooperation and
UK support to Egypt, especially economic and educational
reform. He will discuss regional issues and international
efforts to combat terrorism with Foreign Minister HE
Sameh Shoukry, as well as meetings with the Minister of
Interior, Education and business leaders. It is the
Minister’s first visit to Egypt since he was appointed to
his new position as the first ever joint State Minister
for the Middle East and North Africa for both the Foreign
Office and and Department for International Development.
The visit is an opportunity to reinforce the UK’s
position as Egypt’s top economic partner. The UK is the
number one investor in Egypt: investments in the first
half of 2016/17 alone amounted to $2.9 billion.
The Minister will discuss new investments and new UK
support for Egypt’s economic reforms, including through
providing additional technical assistance to reform
policies in the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
Investment, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of
Petroleum, Ministry of Education. Mr Burt will oversee
implementation of the $150 million support agreed by
Foreign Secretary in his meeting with
President Sisi in February and his visit is an
opportunity to explore how best to use the loan.
Mr Burt will also discuss the importance of job creation
in order for the Egyptian economy to flourish, and will
meet with young Egyptian social entrepreneurs. The UK is
working with the Egyptian government on licensing reform
to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start their own
business, which will improve the investment environment,
benefiting both Egyptian companies and UK investors.
As well as the economy, he will meet with Minister for
Education, Tarek Shawky, to discuss the UK’s support for
the Egyptian government’s progressive plans to reform
education, which includes technical assistance to the
Ministry for Education. The UK is also supporting
education in Egypt through scholarships such as the
British Government’s Chevening program, which gives
fully-paid scholarships to study at the UK’s top
universities. This is a world-wide program, and Egypt is
number one globally in the number of students applying
for the scholarship. Both the UK and Egypt have faced
senseless terrorist attacks recently, leading to the
deaths of many innocent people. The visit is an important
time to reinforce UK-Egyptian cooperation in facing the
shared threat of terrorism, and how to combat
radicalisation.
Minister :
I look forward to my first visit to Egypt following my
re-appointment as a UK Foreign Office Minister. The UK
is a longstanding friend of Egypt and this visit to
Cairo is an ideal opportunity for me to discuss further
UK-Egyptian collaboration in many areas, including
education and economic reform.
Ambassador Ambassador John Casson said:
No country is doing more than Britain to support
Egypt’s education and economy – the pivotal issues in a
pivotal country for this region and the world. The UK
is Egypt’s number one economic partner: the largest
foreign investor in Egypt, and a strong supporter of
the Government’s economic reform program. And we know
that alongside economic growth, education is crucial in
giving dreams and opportunities for the people of
Egypt. Education and economy will be at the heart of
this visit to keep Britain as number one partner and
take our partnership to the next level in support of
the government and people of Egypt in their ambitious
reform program.
