STORY: Promising future for Egyptian economic zone as Chinese investments grow: official
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Aug. 31, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:23
LOCATION: Cairo
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Egypt's SCZone
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WALEID GAMAL EL-DIEN, Chairman of the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone)
3. various of companies in Egypt's SCZone
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WALEID GAMAL EL-DIEN, Chairman of the General Authority of the SCZone
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): WALEID GAMAL EL-DIEN, Chairman of the General Authority of the SCZone

STORYLINE:

Chinese investments have been growing in Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), highlighting a promising future for the trade hub around the vital Suez Canal, said an Egyptian official.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): WALEID GAMAL EL-DIEN, Chairman of the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone)
"We were very happy to attract a lot of investments in the last two years of more than 6 billion U.S. dollars, 40 percent of which are coming from China. I believe it's a great opportunity to showcase the opportunities, the ecosystem, the infrastructure, and the incentives that investors are looking for in the Suez Canal Economic Zone."

Gamal El-Dien said more than 160 Chinese companies are working in various sectors in the SCZone.

He said Egypt's SCZone and Suez Canal are vital hubs for the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WALEID GAMAL EL-DIEN, Chairman of the General Authority of the SCZone
"I think Egypt in general and the SCZone specifically would be playing a huge part in the Belt and Road Initiative. We believe the integration between our industrial areas and our ports is helping in integrating the zone within the Belt and Road Initiative and helping investors achieve their objectives."

The official is expected to visit Beijing in early September to attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): WALEID GAMAL EL-DIEN, Chairman of the General Authority of the SCZone
"For us, this is a very important forum to discuss with our partners in Africa how to better serve them and also to discuss with Chinese investors how they can better serve Africa from Egypt. I believe we are now benefiting really from what has happened over the last few years in bringing and attracting more investors. And we really look to attract more investments."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cairo.
(XHTV)