Society 363 / 2013

Ägypten
Interview
Which measures
does the government
take to
stimulate the
economy (apart
from tourism)?
Ever since the revolution the main
drive for the economy in Egypt has been
to stimulate the various sectors of the
economy, most importantly the type of
economic activities that directly impact
on the lives of citizens in terms of job
creation, because there is a need to satisfy
the growing demands for employment in
the country. That has been the main objective.
In this regard several new investment
projects have been launched recently,
including a new project by Samsung to
launch a new manufacturing site in the
South of Egypt with a planned job creation
of 3400 new jobs.
Which sectors of the economy are
most important?
There have been several measures to
stimulate the agricultural sector through
various incentives that the government
has applied with the regard to the diversification
of produce and to enhance the
production in special areas such as the
cultivation of wheat for instance.
In the industrial sector several projects
have been initiated to enhance more investment
and to maintain the level of investment
and economic activity.
Apart from that the service sector is
an important sector in our economy, like
banking, telecommunications, and software.
Software is quite a big industry in
Egypt. We have successfully increased our
export and services in that field.
What about the energy sector? Are
there project in the field of renewable
energy?
There has been a growing expansion
in different types of projects that are
launched in renewable energy. Recently,
there has been the launching of a project
for solar energy production in Komombo
in the South of Egypt. An international
bid will be opened for that project. This is
just one example that is being implemented
and planned in the renewable energy
sector to meet the growing demand of energy
in Egypt.
Egypt has a national plan of changing
the energy mix towards more sustainability
and efficiency. There is a national
strategy developed to increase the share of
renewable energy share in electricity generation
to twenty per cent by 2020.
A moment of
national debate
Ambassador of Egypt, H.E. Khaled Shamaa,
about life after the revolution and why he is
optimistic about the transition of his country
into a real democracy.
Interview: SOCIETY
Which kind of renewable energy is
most feasible in Egypt?
Solar and wind. Along the Red Sea
coast we have a large concentration of
wind energy plants near Zafarana. There
are plans to expand that in other areas in
the country. We also need to think creatively.
For example, just as the sun and the
magnificent sea coasts attract the tourists
to the Red Sea, they can be the main
sources to generate the energy needed to
operate the facilities at this area, in an
eco-friendly approach.
Are there any co-operations with Austrian
companies?
There is quite a good amount of cooperation
with Austrian companies but we
are also looking for cooperation with other
companies that are interested in that
area, and of course Austrian companies
have a good level of expertise and there
Foto: Heeresbild- und Filmstelle
112 | Societ 1_2013