CAIRO, JUNE 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian Ambassador to Egypt Ruben Karapetian was on a working visit to Alexandria, an industrial center of Egypt, on June 21-22 with the aim of discussing and promoting the opportunities of trade and economic cooperation between Armenia and Egypt. During the visit, the ambassador met with the management of the Union of Businessmen of Alexandria (UBA), visited Farco - Egypt's largest pharmaceutical company and the Zahran plant of domestic electric appliances. During a meeting with UBA Chairman Muhammed Ragab with the participation of about 25 businessmen, the Armenian ambassador presented the current satisfactory state of bilateral relations, stressing the need for further activization of the Armenian-Egyptian trade and economic cooperation. R. Karapetian pointed out such sectors as pharmaceutics, IT, agriculture, tourism, education and science as promising ones. The sides agreed to sign an agreement on cooperation with the Union of Businessmen of Armenia and to hold an Armenian-Egyptian business forum in Alexandria in 2007. The opportunities of implementing long-term investment programs in Armenia were discussed as well. According to the RA MFA Press and Information Department, the UBA also accepted the Armenian ambassador's proposal to organize a visit to Alexandria by a delegation of businessmen of Shirak marz. Within the framework of this visit, it will be possible to sign an agreement on declaring Alexandria and Gyumri sister cities. Dr. Medhat el-Dib, Rector of the Institute of Tourism and Hotels of Alexandria, who attended the meeting, announced his decision to allocate 5 scholarships to Armenia.

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