The fourth MED-ALLIA Cairo 2009 Forum - the Mediterranean Forum of Businesses Development - will open in Cairo on December 6, 2009 with the participation of many Egyptian, Arab and Mediterranean companies, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed said Thursday 5/11/2009. The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce and UBIFRANCE are responsible for gearing up for the three-day event, he said during a meeting Thursday 5/11/2009 with President of the Franco-Arab Chamber of Commerce Harve de Charette. MED-ALLIA Cairo 2009 is a multi-sector forum that aims at developing commercial exchanges and partnerships between French and Egyptian companies as well as enterprises of the region, thus joining the dynamics of the Union for the Mediterranean co-presided by France and Egypt.

Within the framework of the event, meetings will be organized among 400 companies of Egypt , France, Algeria , Tunisia , Lebanon , Syria , Jordan , Libya , Morocco and Turkey , Rasheed said.

So far, 61 French companies, 40 Egyptian and 20 from the Mediterranean Union member states are registered to take part in the forum, Rasheed said. Talks between Rasheed and de Charette tackled means of bolstering cooperation between the Franco-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce and boosting trade exchange between Egypt and France .