UK Prime Minister David Cameron's trade envoy to Egypt Jeffrey Donaldson said Monday British companies were playing an important role to help Egypt in the development project of the Suez Canal economic zone.

During his meeting with Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority Ahmed Darwish, Donaldson said that British design and infrastructure companies had the experience and expertise to turn the vision into reality and make the Suez Canal Economic Zone a success.

The British companies are uniquely placed to help Egypt develop the Suez Canal Economic Zone, he added.

Donaldson’s remarks came as he hosted Darwish and Director of Dar al HandasahYehia Zaki at the British Embassy in Cairo for a round-table discussion with leading British design and infrastructure companies, including Carillion, Foster + Partners, and Mott Macdonald.

"The Suez Canal Economic Zone is an ambitious project, which has the potential to transform not just Egypt, but the whole region," Donaldson said.

"Darwish's vision for the zone would create thousands of jobs for Egyptians and would use Egypt's unique strategic location to facilitate trade and economic growth in Egypt, Europe, the Gulf, and beyond," he added.

"The challenge is turning vision into reality," the UK envoy stressed. "That is where British companies, with their experience and expertise, have a unique role to play. We have had good discussions today and I hope that this is the start of a partnership that makes the Suez Canal Economic Zone a success."

The British companies attending today's discussion have an unparalleled track record in world-class design and construction of public infrastructure, the UK Embassy in Cairo said in a statement.

"Carillion is responsible for the £230m design and construction of Terminal 5C at London Heathrow airport and the construction of the 5-star Yas Viceroy hotel, worth over 2.2bn AED (Emirati Dirhams), that overlooks the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 racetrack, while Foster + Partners is an architecture and integrated design firm, which has worked all over the world. In the Middle East, it is responsible for Queen Alia airport in Amman, Kuwait International airport, and the masterplan for the 640-hectare Masdar City project in Abu Dhabi," the statement added.

"Mott Macdonald is a global management, engineering, and development consultancy. The company has a leading role in London's Crossrail project, a 100km commuter line stretching east-west across London. Crossrail is worth £15bn and is Europe’s largest infrastructure project," the statement concluded.