The Egyptian Minister for Electricity and Energy, Dr Hassan Younis, was in Chennai on 18 November 2009.
The Minister visited the Sanmar Engineering Corporation’s facilities at Karapakkam. CII and The Sanmar Group hosted a dinner in honour of the Minister at Hotel Taj Coromandel.
Sanmar is one of the early entrants among Indian companies in Egypt with TCI Sanmar Chemicals LLC, its PVC and chlor-alkali business in Port Said.
Earlier, Dr Younis had met Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah and Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki in New Delhi before his visit to Chennai. During this meeting, Dr Younis had expressed his intent for India and Egypt to shortly sign a memorandum of understanding to encourage cooperation in renewable energy. Given its strategic topography and conducive business climate, the Minister felt that Egypt had enormous potential for tapping wind and solar energy. Egypt’s Ambassador Mohammed Higazi accompanied the Minister. Dr Younis, a Ph.D. in electrical power engineering, visited a couple of wind energy facilities in and around Chennai.
(From l to r) : S B Prabhakar Rao, N Kumar, Egyptian Minister for Electricity and Energy H E Dr Hassan Younis, Egypt’s Ambassador to India Mohammed Higazi and Vijay Sankar.
H E Dr Hassan Younis visiting the Sanmar Engineering Corporation’s facility at Karapakkam.
(From l to r) Medhat Adel, Commercial Counsellor, Egyptian Commercial Service, Abdul Rahaman Afi fi , Chairman, Power Regulatory Authority Egypt, Egyptian Minister for Electricity and Energy H E Dr Hassan Younis, Mohammed Higazi, Egypt’s Ambassador to India, Abd El Rahman Salah El Din, Executive Chairman, Ministry of Electricity and Energy, Egypt.
Vijay Sankar with Ajit Singh, Consul General Republic of Singapore at Chennai and Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner
Welcoming foreign companies to invest in generation and distribution of conventional sources of energy, Dr Younis said, “Our plan is to keep 33 per cent to be built by the Renewable Energy Authority and 67 per cent by the private sector”.