Egypt’s Banque du Caire has opened a representative office in the UAE.

The new office will work as a “focal point through which the bank aims to strengthen its overseas presence” in order to boost foreign trade, Banque du Caire says in a statement.

According to the bank’s CEO Tarek Fayed, the office will focus not only on the UAE but also the GCC region as a whole. It will help to finance trade operations between Egypt and the Arab Gulf countries and attract Gulf investments to Egypt.

The bank has also partnered with exchange houses in Arab Gulf countries to capture more remittances from Egyptians expats. Banque du Caire currently captures 10% of the total remittances of Egyptian expats routed from this region.

Fayed notes that the bank has secured the initial approvals needed from the central banks in both the UAE and Egypt. He expects the office will support a 15% market share growth for Banque du Caire.