Minister of Trade and Industry Tareq Qabil said on Thursday an increase of 1.5 billion pounds was allocated to support exports, considering it an important step to develop the Egyptian economy.

The ministry seeks to support the industrial sector in order to increase exports and pump more foreign currency to the state's treasury, Qabil said during a meeting with investors at the Sadat city.

"The ministry issued licences for 1,306 projects in the past period at an investment cost of 21.3 billion pounds," he said, noting that such projects are expected to provide 54,000 job opportunities for Egypt's youth. 

He underlined that this move comes as part of the ministry's ongoing efforts to improving the industrial investment climate at the industrial zones across the country.