President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met today with Major General  Eng. Mokhtar Abdellatif, Chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI).

The Official Spokesperson for the Presidency stated that during the meeting, the President reviewed the progress of the implementation of the most prominent activities and projects of the factories and companies affiliated with the AOI in the field of civil and defense industries.

The Chairman of the AOI emphasized that the AOI is working within the framework of a strategy that seeks to enhance local manufacturing, localize modern technology, and partner with major local, Arab, and international companies to transfer expertise and develop national industries, thus strengthening Egypt's position as a leading regional industrial power.

This is achieved through several key axes, including modernizing production lines in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution to increase manufacturing and technological capabilities, qualifying and training human cadres to keep pace with rapid technological changes and ensure quality and efficiency levels, supporting technical research in partnership with research institutions, deepening military industrialization to meet the demands of the armed forces and export, and introducing new industries that meet the demands and needs of the local and foreign markets, thus supporting the Egyptian state's drive towards self-sufficiency and increasing exports.

 Ambassador Mohamed El-Shenawy, the official spokesperson, indicated that the meeting reviewed the developments in the AOI's civil industries, which include transportation, electronics, the manufacture of telecommunications and high-voltage electricity towers, the design and manufacture of water and sewage pumps, water and sewage plants, the manufacture of water, sewage and natural gas pipes, clean energy, wood industries, and medical industries.

In this context, the Chairman of the AOI  indicated that, starting this year, in cooperation with the global Stellantis Group, production of the Citroën C4X has begun on the AAV production lines, with a targeted annual production rate of 7,000 vehicles and a total of 28,000 vehicles over four years. He added that the AOI has also begun production of the new Jeep Cherokee starting September 2024, with an annual production rate of 1,500 vehicles, and the Toyota Fortuner four-wheel drive vehicle at a rate of 1,200 vehicles annually. He explained that the AOI  is working to expand local transportation manufacturing, and that in the electronics field, it is seeking to add new lines to produce laptops, tablets, mobile phones, prepaid electricity meters, and routers.

The official spokesperson stated that the Chairman of the AOI reviewed the AOI's efforts in the field of clean energy, particularly the production of solar panels using the latest technologies.

 This includes a project to establish a solar power plant connected to the government grid in Uganda, as part of the Egyptian Initiative for the Nile Basin Countries. The Chairman of the AOI  also reviewed the most important new civil projects being implemented by the AOI, as well as the development of e-marketing tools and mechanisms within the AOI in cooperation with specialized entities to promote products and services and expand the customer base through smart digital platforms that keep pace with local and regional market trends and the requirements of digital transformation.

 He also reviewed the AOI's efforts to qualify human resources, whether through the Arab Institute for Advanced Technology, the Arab Organization for Industrialization Academy for Engineering Training, the Helwan Academy for Technical Education and the Technical Secondary School for Dual Education and Training, or the Welding Academy in Helwan, in cooperation with the International Welding Institute in Italy.

The official spokesman added that Mr. President appreciated the efforts made by the AOI  in various fields, stressing the need to continue the AOI's efforts aimed at increasing its production and reducing prices to achieve competitiveness, deepen local manufacturing, localize advanced technology, and develop local supply chains, ensuring the production of components with global quality and reducing dependence on imports, especially in vital sectors, thus reducing the import bill and providing foreign currency, in support of the national economy, and keeping pace with successive scientific developments in the industrial field, while continuing the ongoing coordination and fruitful and constructive integration between ministries, the private sector, and various Egyptian industrial bodies to achieve industrial compatibility and integration, and optimal utilization of national manufacturing capabilities.