Minister for Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour (Photo: Ahram )
Journalists left a joint press conference on Wednesday when two ministers – Egypt's minister of industry and investment and the UAE's Minister of State – failed to arrive after a two-hour wait.
Despite the importance of the meeting, in which the Egyptian minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour and the UAE's Sultan Bin Ahmed Al-Jaber were expected to speak about projects between the two countries, journalists said they'd had enough, adding that Abdel-Nour was often late to press conferences.
A press released from the Egyptian ministry didn't refer to the journalists' leaving in protest, mentioning instead that the UAE's government was keen on following up on the implementation of projects related to the Gulf state's financial aid to Egypt.
The statement also said that a specific bureau had been created with an office in Cairo and another in Abu Dhabi regarding the agreed-upon projects.
The UAE has granted Egypt's interim authorities LE34.2 billion ($4.9 billion) after the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July.
Last month, Arabtec Holding ARTC.DU, Dubai's largest listed construction firm, agreed to work with the Egyptian army to build one million houses in a project worth LE280 billion ($40.23 billion).
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