Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail held on Tuesday a meeting with the chief executive officer of Canada's Agrium fertilizers company.

They discussed ways of increasing the Canadian company's investments in Egypt in the field of petrochemicals, Cabinet Spokesman Hossam al Qawish said.

The Egyptian government is keen on overcoming all obstacles facing foreign businessmen, Ismail said.

Petrochemical industries play a vital role in increasing the value of natural gas, providing foreign currency and meeting the needs of the agricultural sector.

The Canadian official reviewed a report on the current expansions of the Misr Fertilizers Production Company in Damietta.

The project, costing 1.69 billion dollars, aims at producing 1.38 million tons of urea and 80,000 tons of ammonia a year, he said.