2007年3月16日 埃及拟为俄罗斯和中国设特区

埃及寻求将自己标榜为欧洲、非洲和中东的出口中心，正计划为俄罗斯和中国的制造商建立工业区。

Egypt is planning to create industrial zones for Russian and Chinese manufacturers as it seeks to market itself as an export hub to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

埃及外贸与工业部长拉希德o穆罕默德o拉希德(Rachid Mohamed Rachid)向英国《金融时报》表示，他已定于下月与俄罗斯方面签署建立工业区的协议，并将探讨工业区运转的"技术问题"。

Rachid Mohamed Rachid, the trade and industry minister, told the Financial Times that he was scheduled to sign a protocol with his Russian counterparts next month and would discuss the "technicalities" of making that zone operational.

他表示，占地100万平米的工业园区将建在埃及的地中海沿岸，目标是吸引包括冶金和化学等行业在内的60至80家俄罗斯企业以及10亿美元投资。

The 1m square metre industrial park will be located on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, with the target of attracting 60-80 Russian companies and investment of $1bn (￡500,000, €760,000) in sectors including metallurgy and chemicals, he said.

拉希德表示："埃及希望扩大贸易和投资组合。这意味着要关注我们的长期合作伙伴，关注中国和俄罗斯等国家，还要问问我们自己：'如何才能最好地利用这些关系能带来的所有没有开发的经济潜力？'"

"Egypt wants to diversify its trade and investment portfolio. That means looking to our long-standing partners, countries like China and Russia, and asking ourselves, 'how can we best capture all the untapped economic potential that these relationships can offer?'" Mr Rachid said.

拉希德表示，自去年以来，埃及官员一直在与中国进行谈判，希望敲定建立中国工业区的协议。他宣称，埃及拥有廉价的劳动力和能源成本、优越的地理位置并与欧洲、美国、非洲其它国家和中东签署了优惠贸易协议。

Egyptian officials have been in negotiations with China since last year in an effort to seal an agreement on a Chinese industrial zone, Mr Rachid said, touting Egypt's cheap labour and energy costs, its location and preferential trade agreements with Europe, the US and other parts of Africa and the Middle East.

拉希德造访了多个国家，大力宣传自己的国家是"产业集群"(cluster industries)的理想之地。他此前曾表示，中国将在8年内取代美国，成为埃及最大的单一贸易伙伴。拉希德称："我们尚未谈及（中国工业区）的细节问题，但我们已在原则上达成一致。"

The minister, who travels extensively selling his country as a destination for "cluster industries", has previously said China will overtake the US as Egypt's largest individual trading partner within eight years. "We don't have the specifics yet [on the Chinese zone] but we have agreed on the principle," Mr Rachid said.

他表示："中国政府将支持企业来埃及投资。我们已就一些产业达成了一致，"例如汽车零部件、休闲商品、纺织品和电子产品。

"The Chinese government will be supporting companies to come and invest here. We have agreed on certain sectors of industry," he said, naming car components, leisure goods, textiles and electronics.

拉希德表示，他期望在未来4个月内访问中国，希望届时可以宣布中国工业区所涉及的具体行业和建设地点。

He said he expected to visit China within the next four months, when he hoped to announce specific industries and locations.

埃及贸易官员表示，他们打算吸引至少100家中国企业，初期投资能达到1亿美元。

Egyptian trade officials say they were looking to attract at least 100 Chinese companies, with initial investment of $100m.