Egypt, China's TEDA celebrate 15th anniversary of launching joint economic zone

CAIRO, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Egypt and Chinese industrial developer TEDA celebrated on Wednesday the 15th anniversary of launching their joint economic and trade cooperation zone at Egypt's Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) east of the capital Cairo.

The ceremony was attended by Egyptian and Chinese officials, diplomats, and representatives of the SCZone and TEDA, who witnessed the signing of contracts for new investment projects at the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (SETC-Zone).

Since 2008, TEDA Egypt has been developing an area of more than seven square km in the Suez Canal economic region. It has completed the first phase of development of about 1.34 square km and is currently working on the second phase, which covers an area of six square km.

SCZone chairman Waleid Gamaleldien said that Egypt is willing to provide full support to the TEDA zone by providing all necessary infrastructure and facilities with the latest international standards, describing the joint zone as "one of the most important industrial zones of the SCZone."

Labelling the TEDA zone as "an unprecedented model for the successful cooperation between Egyptians and Chinese," the SCZone chairman said at the ceremony that experience has been gained in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) through the TEDA zone project.

Home to more than 140 companies, the TEDA zone has attracted investments of more than 1.6 billion U.S. dollars and created more than 5,000 jobs for Egyptians, according to Gamaleldien.

At the ceremony, Zhang Chaoyang, minister of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, said he was proud of the success of the TEDA zone.

Describing the zone as "a prominent example of the strategic partnership between Egypt and China," Zhang underlined the important role that SCZone has played in supporting Chinese investments in the region.

Abdul-Majeed Saqr, governor of Egypt's Suez governorate, said the TEDA zone was a "reliable partner" for Egypt in attracting more investments.

"I have visited the TEDA zone many times, and every time I find something new. The construction of the park is getting better and better, and there are more and more enterprises," he said.

Chang Weicai, head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, emphasized that the building of the TEDA zone has led to the establishment of many joint economic and technical projects between Egypt and China.

"This has greatly contributed to advancing social and economic development in Egypt," Chang added.

He stressed the willingness of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Egypt to support the development of the TEDA zone to further facilitate economic and trade cooperation between China and Egypt.

During the ceremony, TEDA zone also unveiled its 2030 Vision-Strategic Upgrade Plan.

Song Caicen, executive director of TEDA companies in Egypt, said that the vision aims at fostering a number of leading enterprises with outstanding competitive advantages and strong capacity, so as to promote industrial agglomeration and cluster development.