Egypt – Iran Cooperation Council Kicks Off with Railway Restructuring Project

Within the framework of cooperation efforts between intellectuals and businessmen in Egypt and Iran, and in an attempt to explore and support ways of cooperation, the Egypt-Iran Cooperation Council (EICC) was established in Cairo.

Al-Sayed Al-Aqili, EICC President and General Coordinator, said that the Council includes a selection of Egyptian figures interested to extend bridges of cultural, tourism and economic cooperation between the two countries, pointing that Councilor Mahmoud Khudairi is the EICC’s Secretary-General, while its legal counsel is Montasser El-Zayat. EICC members include former MP Saad Abboud and Councilor Tawfik Wahba amongst others.

Al-Aqili further said that agreement was reached to establish a complete food manufacturing and processing city, including meat and flour. It also includes setting up factories to make tractors for agricultural uses, plants to make and fill gas cylinders, and flour mills, as well as many other projects.

There is also a project to restructure Egypt’s railway network, for which a US$500 million support offer was submitted to the Minister of Transport. Another project will get airlines operational between Cairo and Tehran, for which preliminary approvals from the Minister of Aviation have already been obtained.

Al-Aqili confirmed that the EICC is not linked to politics or religious doctrine. It aims to support aspects of cooperation in various fields, notably the economy and tourism; and to identify all potential areas of cooperation, investment and exchange of experiences between the two countries to support the Egyptian economy.

He pointed to a number of mechanisms for the implementation of EICC objectives, including organization of conferences and cultural seminars, and assistance in the preparation of programs for officials’ visits in coordination with government agencies and media establishments.

In the economic arena, the first of the proposed projects kicked off as the EICC began its work with an agreement on the operation of a large group of closed factories, especially factories that used to manufacture pharmaceuticals and electrical appliances, and factories that produced dried fruits and vegetables, in partnerships for modernization and restructuring using the latest technological methods.