The Minister of Investment, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, and the Spanish Ambassador to Egypt, Antonio Lopez Martinez, mulled over preparations for next May 11-12 Egyptian-Spanish Investment Forum, to be organized by the Spain Commercial Bureau in Egypt.

The forum is held every year in a different country. Egypt was selected for the event by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX).

The forum, aimed at enhancing Spain's investments in Egypt, would feature several meetings between Egyptian and Spanish companies working in the fields of textiles, auto spare parts, new and renewed energy, fish farming and water treatment.

Nearly 40 major Spanish investment corporations are attending the event.

In the meeting, Dr. Mohieldin highlighted the importance of the Egyptian-Spanish investment ties.

"Spain's investments occupy the 11th position among total foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Egypt," Dr. Mohieldin said. "Egypt is home to 117 companies with Spanish contributions, of which 56 percent were founded in the past five years."

The minister said there is a program to boost the Egyptian-Spanish economic and investment relations. It aims at benefiting from Spain's growth and development experiment, as well as the unique ties between the two nations.

Spain is a pure exporter of FDIs. A large part of its investment growth is spurred by the fields of financial services, telecommunications and energy.

Means to draw upon the Spanish strategy of expansion in North Africa were also discussed. More efforts are needed to improve knowledge and awareness within the Spanish business community about the climate and opportunities of investment in Egypt and to exchange promotional visits.

The meeting was attended by the Economic and Commercial Advisor of the Spanish Embassy in Egypt, the General Authority for Investment (GAFI) chairman, Osama Saleh and a number of Ministry of Investment and GAFI officials.