CAIRO, Feb. 19 -- Egyptian company Tatweer Medical Industries and Chinese medical devices and solutions supplier Mindray signed Wednesday a cooperation protocol to set up Egypt's first ultrasound device manufacturing plant, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population said in a statement.

Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, who attended the signing ceremony, stressed the protocol's importance "in bolstering local medical industries, meeting the needs of the Egyptian health sector of advanced medical equipment, achieving self-sufficiency, and reducing import dependency," read the statement.

The minister said that the first locally made devices will be manufactured and launched in April and that the factory is expected to produce 2,500 devices annually.

He noted the ministry will offer all necessary facilitations to ensure the success of the project, attract investment in Egypt's health sector, and encourage global companies to transfer medical device manufacturing technology to Egypt, according to the statement.