Excellency Dr. Ahmed Samir Saleh, Minister of Trade and Industry,

Excellency Hossam Ahmed Heiba, President of GAFI,

Dear Members of the Executive Board of BHS,

(Mr. Kloetscher, Mr. Ulrich, Mr. Ataman, Mr. Alvarez, Mr. Riad)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honour to stand here tonight under the eyes of Ramses II in the Grand Egypian Museum, and attend the Groundbreaking Event of BSH in Egypt. It is the responsibility towards the proud history of Egypt which brings us here together, to celebrate a milestone for the future economic development of Egypt.

BSH, a company with 15,6 bio. Euros turnover, No. 1 household appliances producer in Europe, developing prime products under the brand names Bosch, Siemens and Gaggenau, is opening a state-of-the-art production site in Egypt. It is the first of its kind in Egypt, in the Middle East and in Africa.

And this is perfectly good news in times of economic and financial crisis, of volatile international markets, and of geopolitical turbulences created by the Russian war in Ukraine.

And it is a strong expression of commitment and confidence in Egypt by a major German industial company in a time, when the country urgently needs further foreign investment.

Germany has always been committed to a stable and flourishing development of the Egyptian economy, and we stand by our Egyptian friends and support them in times of crisis. With 5,5 bio. € trade in 2022, we are one of the largest trading and investment partners of Egypt.

Germany has traditionally been investing in the fields of energy and infrastructure, which lay the solid ground for industrial development. Egypt´s current comfortable situation as energy hub and net electricity exporter was made possible by the Siemens gas turbin plants of 2017. The visionary investment in a modern railway system is a further step towards a solid industrial development.

But what the country needs now in the current phase of development is further private investment in productive industry. This creates jobs, increases the domestic purchasing power, raises the Egyptian economy in the global value chain, and creates new foreign exchange revenues through export.

Domestic industrial production, higher local content and creating new export chances, are key for overcoming the current crises and consolidating the industrial sector through further private investment.

Therefore, I am proud that a major German company is contributing to this urgently needed trend. BSH Home Appliances Group is Europe’s leading home appliance manufacturer and number 3 worldwide. Having developed from a German SME to a global player with now 43 factories wordwide, the company serves consumers’ needs around the world with innovative and energy-efficient home appliances.

By opening a local production, BSH is making its own long-term contribution to the success and well-being of the Egypt. It’s a clear expression of confidence for a market that offers many advantages to investors like yourselves: it is by far the biggest consumer market in the MENA region, offers low costs of energy and labor, boosts a well-trained workforce and is strategically located at the intersection between Africa, Europa and the Middle East.

This new, state-of-the-art factory here in Cairo will enable BSH to export to the Middle East and North Africa region and conquer new markets in Africa. This is again very much in line with the ambitions of the Egyptian government, which seeks to increase exports to African markets to 10 billion US dollars by 2025. I hope you can add to this tally.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Egypt will be a new chapter in the international success story of BSH that started in Germany 55 years ago. And this success story is yet another example of Germany`s role as a crucial economic partner for Egypt. The economic stability and prosperity of Egypt is in our core interest.

I wish BSH all the best for this new milestone and look forward to further good news on foreign direct investment to Egypt.

Thank you very much.