2005 will be the year of activating the industrial sector in Egypt, said Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rashid Muhammad Rashid. The ministry will seek to iron out the problems of the stumbling investors in the industrial sector in coordination with the Central Bank of Egypt and the other banks in order to reoperate the factories and the industrial projects which stopped due to financial problems, said the minister in statements on Wednesday [29 December].

Impediments hampering many industries will be eliminated, especially in the domains of cement, car, textiles and clothes industries, he said. The competitiveness of the Egyptian industries will also be enhanced through specific mechanisms and within a pre-set timetable that aims to boost the quality of the Egyptian product, reduce its cost and increase the Egyptian workers’ productivity.