“Egyptian State Railways would like to procure 1300 railway cars from Hungary; the negotiations are still ongoing, but an agreement is expected to be concluded within the next 6-8 weeks based on which a Hungarian-Russian joint venture will be manufacturing the carriages with financing from Hungary’s Export-Import Bank”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Parliamentary State Secretary said in a telephone statement to Hungarian news agency MTI following a meeting of the Hungarian-Egyptian Joint Economic Committee (EJC) in Cairo on Friday.

Levente Magyar said the railway development project was historic for Hungary in view of the fact that ever before has a deal of such magnitude been brokered in the history of Hungarian vehicle manufacturing.

The State Secretary said the progress of negotiations is encouraging in view of the fact that at the session of the EJC Egyptian Government representatives had agreed that the Hungarian financing bid was the most favourable.

Concerning the details, Mr. Magyar told the press that Hungary’s Dunakeszi Vehicle Repair Ltd. and Russian-owned Transzmasholding Hungary Cls. would be establishing a consortium for the production of the new railway cars. He also pointed out that Eximbank had undertaken the full financing of the project on the condition that at least 50 percent of the value represented by the manufacturing of the 1300 railway cars is produced in Hungary.

According to the State Secretary, the agreement will provide further substance to the already excellent political relations between Hungary and Egypt.

Also discussed at the meeting were ways in which Egypt could utilise Hungarian agricultural technologies and experiences, particularly within the fields of animal husbandry and intensive crop production, as well as within the fields of water management and wastewater treatment, he added.

“The North African country is realising huge agricultural development projects to enable the more efficient supply of basic foodstuffs to its rapidly growing population. Parallel to this incredible rate of growth, the Nile’s yield is gradually decreasing, however, and Egypt is counting on Hungarian know-how with relation to handling these synergetic challenges”, the State Secretary explained.

Mr. Magyar highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is working to ensure that Hungarian enterprises operating within these fields gain access to concrete business deals in the upcoming period.

In addition, the State Secretary reported on higher education cooperation between the two countries, explaining that the fact that some one thousand Egyptian students have already received degrees from Hungarian universities and that a significant proportion of them are now working in influential positions in Egypt is extremely positive.

He also spoke about the fact that the Hungarian Government is convinced that Egypt’s social and economic stability is the most important interest not only of the country itself, but also for the Middle Eastern region and Europe, including Hungary.

(MTI)