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​Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, witnessed this evening the signing of three framework agreements of the manufacture of cars between the Egyptian government and a number of local and international car companies. The signing of agreements was attended by Dr. Mohamed Moait, Minister of Finance, Lieutenant General Eng. Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Transport, Eng. Mohamed Salah El-Din, Minister of State for Military Production, Eng. Mahmoud Esmat, Minister of Public Business Sector, and Eng. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry (MoTI). The agreements were signed by representatives of the government: Mr. Amr Nour El-Din, Advisor to GAFI CEO, Mr. Al-Shahat Al-Ghatouri, representative of the Environmentally Friendly Automotive Industry Fund, and Mr. Gomaa Madani, Head of the Automotive Industry Unit of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. As for the automotive companies, Mike Whitfield, Chairman and Managing Director for Nissan Motor Egypt and Chairman for Africa South, Mr. Hisham Saeed Hosni, CEO of “Stellantis Egypt” and Mr. “Ankush Arora”, CEO of Al Mansour Automotive Group, signed on behalf of the automotive companies. These framework agreements aim to achieve binding cooperation between representatives of the Egyptian government and the companies, in order to achieve the objectives of the national Automotive Industry Development Program (AIDP). On the sidelines of the signing, the Prime Minister affirmed that the agreements signed today come in light of the government's interest in developing the automotive industry in Egypt, especially eco-friendly cars, pointing in this regard to the issuance of Law No. 162 of 2022 establishing the "Supreme Council for the Automotive Industry." The Prime Minister also pointed out that the establishment of the "Environmentally Friendly Automotive Industry Fund " aims to develop the automotive industry in Egypt, and to develop the necessary resources to finance the eco-friendly automotive industry, i.e. motor vehicles that do not result in emissions or negative effects on the environment, or those that produce environmental impacts or emissions that are less harmful to the environment than vehicles using fossil fuels according to regulating emissions standards. The Minister of Trade and Industry affirmed that AIDP is an integrated and comprehensive policy for the automotive industry and its supplementary industries, which provides a stable framework that is compatible with all international commitments. Since the program depends mainly on the private sector as an engine for the development process, while the government provides a conducive climate to promote the prosperity of the automotive industry in the long term by linking it with the global system of production and trade, the parties of these framework agreements have agreed on binding cooperation among themselves in order to achieve the objectives of AIDP, and in light of the procedural governance of the Environmentally Friendly Automotive Industry Fund. At the same time, MoTI minister indicated that the Automotive Industry Unit affiliated to MoTI will develop detailed accreditation and qualification guidelines for automotive manufacturers, manage the program, set the executive controls, formulate guidelines, train technical personnel and program participants, and calculate local value-added ratios for car models produced in factories participating in the program. Moreover, the unit will set the value-added incentive, the production volume incentive, the investment incentive, and the emissions incentive due to the car manufacturers benefiting from the program. He added that the Unit would also conduct a field inspection of the joining factories, in order to verify that all requirements are met, in order to be benefited from the prescribed incentives. Dr. Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, mentioned that The Environmentally Friendly Automotive Industry Fund, which is a fund, established at the Ministry of Finance to fund and support the eco-friendly automotive industry, will be responsible on the preparation and automation of the procedural cycle of the national AIDP. Furthermore, the Fund will also be responsible for the formula for calculating the incentive due to the manufacturer joining the program, as decided by The Automotive Unit of MoTI, based on four criteria, which are the locally added-value, the volume of annual production, the value of new investments, and the environmental compatibility of the car engine (emissions). The minister added that the Fund would grant the due incentive in the form of a voucher (coupon) that will be paid every three months from the due date, in accordance with the requirements and controls of the national AIDP. Meanwhile, Mr. Amr Nour El-Din, Advisor to GAFI CEO, mentioned the agreements signed today, indicating that in accordance with such agreements, GAFI will coordinate with the Supreme Council for Automotive Industry in setting and approving general policies, plans and strategies necessary for the development of the automotive industry in Egypt in accordance with the general policy of the state, in addition to following up its implementation. In addition, he said that GAFI will coordinate with the Supreme Council for the Automotive Industry and all other relevant entities in setting the general framework for the legislative and administrative reform of the automotive industry to create an attractive environment for the automotive industry. Furthermore, GAFI will coordinate and follow-up with the General Authority of SCZone regarding the procedures of rehabilitating the industrial zone in East Port Said, which is planned to be equipped with a RO-RO berth in East Port Said hub Port, to provide the basic infrastructure and utilities that allow automotive manufacturers to be located in specialized industrial complexes, with an appropriate group of suppliers and service providers. He added that GAFI will coordinate with government entities that intend to modernize and replace their cars by purchasing local cars produced by approved manufacturing companies, and follow up with the concerned entities to complete the infrastructure and superstructure to support the spread of electric vehicles. Moreover, GAFI will promote the investment opportunities available in the field of automotive industry, attract foreign investments and developers to the targeted zone, and grant all investment incentives available in Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 to companies operating in the fields of automotive industry, components and engineering services, which include research and development centers, testing laboratories and software development centers for cars. Following the signing, Mike Whitfield stated that his company appreciates the Prime Minister's today's announcement of the official launch of AIDP, which is a real starting point towards developing a promising automotive industry in Egypt. He added that the rapid implementation of AIDP will contribute significantly to all value-added chains of this strategic industry. For nearly two decades, Nissan is proud that Egypt is its home, and Nissan continues its commitment and cooperation with all stakeholders to develop this important sector for the benefit of Nissan employees and customers as well as the Egyptian society, Mike Whitfield concluded. On his part, Al-Mansour Automotive Group CEO confirmed that in light of the Egyptian government's interest in developing the automotive industry in Egypt, especially eco-friendly cars, GAFI, the Environmentally Friendly Automotive Fund, and MoTI Automotive Industry Unit signed a framework agreement with Al-Mansour Automotive Company. According to this agreement, Al-Mansour will manufacture cars inside the Arab Republic of Egypt. This agreement is governed by Law No. 162 of 2022 incorporating the Supreme Council for the Automotive Industry and the Environmentally Friendly Automotive Industry Fund, and it aims at developing the automotive sector in Egypt. Al-Mansour Automotive Group CEO added that the agreement was signed following the launching of AIDP, which is an integrated and comprehensive policy for the automotive industry and the industries supplementary thereto. Moreover, AIDP is a policy that provides a stable environment conforming to Egypt's international commitments, as it increases dependency on the private sector in pushing the wheel of development; the agreement concluded here with Al-Mansour is a good example on the government's willingness to increase private sector engagement. On the long run, the government will provide a more favorable automotive business environment by linking the local industry with the global system of production and trade in order to achieve the objectives of AIDP, Al-Mansour Automotive Group CEO concluded. Stellantis Egypt CEO stated that today’s agreement is an important step towards developing the Egyptian automotive industry, in light of the fact that the Prime Minister formalized the newly developed automotive strategy (AIDP) and that a framework agreement was signed between GAFI, MoTI Automotive Unit, the Environmentally Friendly Automotive Fund and Stellantis Group represented by Stellantis Egypt Managing Director, Hesham Hosni. Stellantis Egypt CEO added that the agreement is a progression of the Memorandum of Understanding that he signed on behalf of Stellantis with the Prime Minister in a meeting held in August 2022. It is also an impressive continuation of Stellantis’ 50-year presence in Egypt – a presence that enhances market leadership by a strong network of local partnerships, he concluded.