Ahram Online: How do you evaluate the current relationship between Egypt and Australia?

Axel Wabenhorst: Well, it's a strong bilateral relationship. It's founded on a long period of diplomatic relations, of course, as well as people-to-people links.

So, Egyptians have been immigrating to Australia for decades now, and it's a well-established community in Australia. There are, according to our last census, about 100,000 people of Egyptian descent living in Australia. That's out of a population of almost 26,000,000, and there are about 40,000 residents of Australia who say they were born in Egypt.

So, this is the foundation of the relationship, and we have two members of parliament, including one minister of Egyptian background, in addition to one Supreme Court judge and one of our most popular television presenters.

The Egyptian-Australian community is very talented and well-integrated, which constitutes a solid basis for people-to-people links. And, of course, Australians love coming to Egypt. They love visiting the ancient sites and not only the beaches, but Australians come mainly for the culture. And in the other direction, of course, the "Ramses the Great Exhibition" will start in Sydney in November, and I think this will again raise awareness in Australia of Egypt and what people can see here.

Until today, there remains a group of Australian peace monitors in the Sinai, monitoring the peace treaty, which is also an essential part of the bilateral relationship.

AO: Does this mean more Australian tourists are expected to visit Egypt?

AW: I've spoken with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and they've reassured me that the number of Australians coming now is at the level, and even above, what it was before the COVID-19 Pandemic.

We can say that there is a rising interest in visiting Egypt, and I think that if the distance were a little bit shorter between both countries, there would be more interest. However, for Australians, distance is not so much of an issue as they are used to travelling long distances.

AO: Trade relations have been going strong in the last few years. What is your view on that?

AW: Bilateral trade is at an amount totalling about $1 billion in the fiscal year 2021/2022, and it has been increasing ever since as trade between both countries is going strong, and I think there are good areas of cooperation in trade. Fava beans are Australia's largest export to Egypt, with over half of the beans in Egypt coming from Australia. It's worth about 400 million Australian dollars, which equals about $250 million.

The main nonfood export is alumina, a processed form of aluminium ore, in addition to wool and paper.

Egypt's main exports are citrus and dates, and there's a good chance more products will be exported to Australia. Egypt produces good quality products at affordable prices. Other Egyptian products also include carpets and building materials like cement.

In the fields of trade and investment, there are possibilities for further cooperation.

AO: Are there Australian companies looking to invest currently in Egypt?

AW: There is a major Australian company that's very interested in sourcing fruit for canning from Egypt, with fruits like peaches, pears, apricots, and tomatoes.

There is an ongoing project here in Egypt which could lead to water saving in agriculture, in addition to another project in recycling banana plants, which are turned into fertilizer and food packaging. This helps in removing waste which was previously going into the river or was only releasing greenhouse gases.

This is in addition to an Australian company that produces the polymer for the new LE10 and LE20 polymer banknotes, which are more sustainable. Australian investments in Egypt also include a company that manufactures hearing implants.

There are a couple of promising areas for future investment as well, including mining, which is a massive sector in Australia with very active mining companies. There's a good chance that they will show more interest in Egypt, depending on the commercial arrangements. Egypt has good security and infrastructure, making it attractive for these mining companies.

Green energy is also a crucial sector for investment, with an Australian company currently conducting a feasibility study for a project in Egypt. They've had land allocated by the Egyptian government, which will be potentially used for generating solar and wind power. Then, they will connect this power to the National Grid.

Extracting hydrogen from seawater and Desalination are also crucial areas for potential new investments, with projects worth billions of dollars.

We're hopeful that there will be more air links in future, and I think that Egypt Air might be looking at the possibility of some direct flights in the future, which will help open up further opportunities for cooperation.

AO: Can you elaborate on the obstacles facing increasing Australian investments or driving trade relations forward?

AW: One of the current obstacles is the shortage of foreign currency. Investors think about both incoming and outgoing currency. This is not specific to Australia, of course. The convertibility of the currency and the existence of a parallel exchange rate is also an issue.

AO: Australian scholarships are very popular among Egyptians as well. What are the main areas of cooperation in education?

AW: Egyptian students are very well regarded in Australia, and it's a great way to build the links of cooperation between the two countries.

Australia has a nondiscriminatory migration program. The country of origin is less important than the skills immigrants have. Egyptians have been coming regularly to Australia since the 1950s and 1960s.

Certain professions are highly in demand in Australia, and I think Egyptians working in those areas will find it possible to migrate. These include medicine, engineering, information technology, and many more listed on the Australian government's immigration website.