Ahmed Al-Wakil, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between Egypt and Germany in the field of energy. He called on German companies to exploit the potentials and opportunities in this sector, especially that Egypt is able to cover the needs of new industries and development of electricity.
Besides, Egypt has developed an exceptional energy transformation that can be a vital example for the entire region. The government has set a path for sustainable development and has successfully, together with Siemens, Orascom Construction and El Sewedy Electric, strengthened the generation capacity of Egypt by 45 percent by linking 14.4 gigawatts to the Egyptian national network.
This is not just a great example of German-Arab cooperation but also a remarkable shift in energy. At the same time, Siemens has supported Egypt in making electricity distribution more efficient. More than $ 2 billion is planned to only expand and modernize the transmission and distribution network over the next three years.
The ninth Arab-German Energy Forum was held in Cairo on October 24 and 25, 2018, within the initiative of the Arab-German Chamber in cooperation with Siemens AG, and with the support of the Union of Arab Chambers and the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce.
The forum was hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt for the first time and was addressed by Dr. Mohammed Shaker Al-Merqabi, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy in Egypt, and a selection of German, Egyptian and Arab speakers.
The Forum came in light of rising concerns in terms of strengthening capacity to generate electricity in the Arab world, which requires large investments. According to the latest data on electricity, the Arab world plans to generate additional capacity of about 227 thousand megawatts by the year 2035.
The forum served as a platform for discussion for Arab and German companies in the energy sector who met with experts, decision-makers, and entrepreneurs and looked at trends, projects, and opportunities for joint cooperation. More than 300 representatives from Arab and German leading companies attended the forum, with senior and officials from Egypt. Together, they provided direct information on developments made in the energy and electricity sectors.
Mohamed Abdou Saleh, chairman of the Federation of Arab Chambers, said investments in the energy sector must be increased as the Arab world faces challenges in energy shortages and new alternatives must be explored.
