Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Alaa Farouk met with UAE Ambassador to Cairo Maryam Al Kabi to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two countries in agricultural investments. The meeting was also attended by Saad Moussa, Superintendent of Egyptian Agricultural Quarantine and Foreign Agricultural Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The meeting was in line with the political leaders’ directives to streamline investor procedures and create an attractive investment environment as part of Egypt-UAE strategic partnership.
During the meeting, Farouk praised the UAE’s investments in Cairo across various sectors, especially agriculture, which has experienced steady growth under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. He highlighted the deep historical ties between the two countries.
Farooq highlighted investment opportunities in agricultural activities with emphasis on agro-manufacturing to maximise value addition, create jobs and promote local technology and industry.
He also stressed the importance of exchange of expertise, expanding exchange of agricultural products, and cooperation on dual-purpose breeds for meat and milk production, as well as high conversion sheep and goat rearing.
Al-Kaabi expressed his country’s desire to increase investments in Egypt, especially in the field of food security, within the framework of the quadrilateral strategy that includes Egypt, the UAE, Jordan and Iraq.
She stressed that agricultural cooperation could include livestock, poultry production, fish processing and packaging, especially tuna. Al Kabi mentioned the Khalifa International Prize for Date and Agricultural Innovation, a global award that supports agricultural innovation and recognizes outstanding date palm cultivation researchers.
Farouk noted that Egypt is a global leader in date production, citing the establishment of the world’s largest palm plantation in the Toshka region, and proposed working with the UAE to maximize the benefits of date exports and production.
The two sides agreed to help UAE companies invest in various agricultural sectors. Farooq instructed relevant authorities in the ministry to promptly address challenges faced by UAE companies, and they also agreed on a mechanism for following up on the shared files.