Naguib Sawiris, Egypt's Biggest Businessman, Has Deep North Korea Connection

GlobalPost:

SEOUL, South Korea -- Egypt's biggest businessman holding hands with Kim Jong Il.

This image, from an official photograph that also features the Dear Leader's brother-in-law (below), leaves little doubt as to which side North Korea backs in the Egypt uprising.

It's rare that Kim Jong Il personally receives a foreign visitor, much less allows his picture to be taken while firmly clasping the hand of one. Nevertheless, mobile-phone tycoon Naguib Sawiris got his very own squeeze while visiting Pyongyang in late January.

North Korea and Egypt are special friends. Kim Jong Il has a deep relationship with Sawiris, chairman of Orascom Telecom, that goes well beyond the mobile network his company set up in North Korea over the past three years.

Read the whole story: GlobalPost

Comments

[Bernique]

08:33 PM on 02/08/2011

Backdrop: World Economic Forum" [Davos] Why am I not surprised at the sleaze oozing from this "businessman"?

[cccoyote]

05:58 PM on 02/08/2011

Might be a more interesting article connecting the dots of The Administration, Boeing, Narus, Narusinsight, Egypt, Sawiris, password corruption.

[horhay]

02:39 PM on 02/08/2011

Anything for a profit, right Arianna. It isn't all that different from prostitution

[Timma]

01:21 PM on 02/08/2011

Special "wink wink" friends - how heart warming. How will the WH spin this one?

[wowme]

12:33 PM on 02/08/2011

Haliburton's deep connection to iran

[RaWash]

12:25 PM on 02/08/2011

This is a stupid piece, Mr Sawiris is a well respected opposition figure in Egypt, and his dealing with N Korea has nothing to do with the corrupt government of Egypt, rather with Mr. Sawiris' passion for uncharted markets (remember he was also the first mobile operator to enter post-war Iraq as well as business-unfriendly Algeria), Mr. Sawiris had to sell half his company to a Russian operator just to get the Russian government's assistance in stopping a hostile takeover by the Algerian government because his own government wouldn't do anything about it, so to suggest there is any link between the current Egyptian regime and Mr Sawiris' business deals is bad investigative journalism.

[Sharin Elkholy]

11:10 AM on 02/08/2011

Mr. Sawiris has been proud to announce that the Mubarak government should step down but that it did not engage in corruption with regard to Egyptian Businesses. This is a lie. My father's company, NTC, was to be awarded the first cell phone license in Egypt. NTC woke up one day to find that Sawiris received the license and that it was due to an extremely large bribe given to the Mubarak regime.

[Heso]

11:33 AM on 02/08/2011

Can you spare more details about that please ?... Did your father's company sued anyone in response ?... How did that exactly happened, i am interested, because as far as i know, if your father's company had official papers supporting that, the company could've used it.

[ArjenBoatsma]

04:32 PM on 02/08/2011

I'm sure his father wanted to wake up another day.

[Darren2Be]

05:27 PM on 02/08/2011

Intirguing. I urge you to post any supporting links. This kind of info has a much needed place in the subtext of dimensions the MSM won't cover.