Russia and Egypt on Wednesday signed a deal to create and maintain a Russian industrial zone in the region of the Suez Canal in Egypt, Russian media reported. The agreement of the project was signed by Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov and his Egyptian counterpart Tarek Kabil at a meeting of the Russian-Egyptian intergovernmental commission, according to Tass news agency. The project was discussed by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit of the latter to Cairo in December 2017. The 525-hectare zone, to be located in the east of Port Said in northeast Egypt as part of the economic area of the Suez Canal, is meant for manufacturing of competitive high quality and high-tech products to meet the demand in the Egyptian market and markets of third countries using Russian industrial assembly and production schemes, the agreement reads. The implementation of this project will activate the promotion of Russian high-tech products to the new capacious markets of the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America and will make a promising contribution to the development of the Egyptian economy, the Russian Industry and Trade ministry said in a statement on its web site. The Russian government plans to invest in the development of the zone around 190 million U.S. dollars, and the possible total amount of private investment is estimated at around 7 billion dollars, TASS quoted Manturov as saying at the signing. Under the agreement, Egypt will provide residents of the industrial zone in Port Said, as well as its managing company, with simplified and stable tax regime, the document reads. The agreement is concluded for a period of 50 years and will be automatically updated if neither side declares its intention to terminate it. The construction of the zone is scheduled to start this year and to be completed by the year of 2031.
