Egyptian prime minister calls Qatari business sectors to invest in Egypt

The Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt Dr Mostafa Kamal Madbouly called on the business sectors in the State of Qatar to invest in his country, stressing his determination and the governmental team accompanying him to remove all obstacles that prevent stimulating projects by adopting several reforms and incentives.
This came during a meeting Tuesday between the Egyptian Prime Minister and representatives of the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association, which discussed Qatari investment aspirations and opportunities in Egypt and ways of enhancing them.
The Egyptian Prime Minister expressed his admiration for the development and renaissance the State of Qatar is witnessing in various fields and Qatar's great success in organising the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
He stressed that Egypt focused on rebuilding the state and infrastructure, explaining that his country has dropped unemployment levels from 18% to 7.2% in the current period as a result of launching major projects in the past few years, which compensated for the decline in the private sector's contribution to growth rates as a result of changes and instability in Egypt.
He pointed out that the infrastructure projects have contributed to creating economic dynamism and provided the appropriate framework to stimulate the private sector.
Dr Madbouly explained that Egypt was able, in the past period, to establish several incentives to encourage investors, pointing out that the House of Representatives will soon approve laws on more tax incentives, including exempting the investors from 55% of the taxes they pay in their investment field.
He underlined that Egypt is focusing on promoting the private sector's participation in the economy.
He pointed out that his government is working to restore Egypt to the position it deserves and establish an infrastructure of ports, roads, industrial zones, electricity networks, and more, despite the challenges that Egypt had faced alongside the countries of the globe, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, in addition to the population challenge, as the population of Egypt has now reached 105mn.
Dr Madbouly said that Egypt is on the way to ending the crisis and the phenomenon of exchange rate fluctuation.
He explained that there are no legal restrictions in Egypt that limit the exit of investors' profits, adding that Egypt does not place any obstacles to the entry and exit of investors' profits.
Moreover, Dr Madbouly witnessed the signing ceremony of three memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population and several Qatari companies in the framework of supporting and strengthening aspects of the partnership with the private sector in the field of providing health care services.
The three MoUs were signed on the Egyptian side by adviser to the Minister of Health and Population for Governance and Technical Affairs, Dr Mohamed al-Tayeb, and on the Qatari companies' side by the Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Investment Holding Company Ramez al-Khayyat, CEO of Aamal Company Rashid bin Ali al-Mansoori, and CEO of Al Qamra Holding Group Dr Hossam Eldin Mostafa.
According to the three MoUs, Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population will work to determine the most appropriate locations for projects to be invested in and managed by Qatari companies, in addition to simplifying the various procedures and licenses necessary to operate.
For his part, Chairperson of Qatar Chamber Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed al-Thani said that the meeting aims to discuss aspects and opportunities for co-operation between the Qatari private sector and its Egyptian counterpart in the economic, trade and investment fields.
Chairperson of QC expressed his hope that the meeting would achieve objectives in enhancing joint co-operation, establishing alliances between Qatari and Egyptian companies, and promoting mutual investments to reach higher rates of trade exchange, which has witnessed remarkable development in recent years, as it has achieved the level of QR350mn in 2022 compared to QR 239mn in 2021 — a growth of 46%, and compared to QR159mn in 2020 — a growth of 120%. He added that these rates are still below the level of aspirations and are not commensurate with the great potential that the two brotherly countries have, which places a huge responsibility on the Qatari and Egyptian private sectors to stimulate intra-trade, through the establishment of mutual and joint projects in both countries.
Qatari businesspersons are watching with admiration the remarkable developments in the Egyptian economy, and the huge boom that Egypt is witnessing, whether in terms of infrastructure or development projects, which open many investment opportunities with businesspersons, he said.
He added that this is considered an incentive for Qatari business owners to direct their investments to the Egyptian market, especially with the existence of feasible opportunities in various sectors such as agriculture and food security, industry, real estate, hospitality and others.
He expressed confidence that the coming period will witness more rapprochement between Qatari and Egyptian businesspersons, which paves the way for establishing alliances and business partnerships.
Qatar Chamber will continue its support to enhance co-operation between the private sector in the two countries, through exchanging visits between businesspersons, studying available investment opportunities, and preparing the ground for establishing alliances between Qatari and Egyptian companies that benefit the Qatari and Egyptian economies, in addition to working to eliminate the obstacles that may hinder the movement of trade exchange between the two sides, he added.
Vice-Chairperson of Qatari Businessmen Association Hussain Alfardan highlighted the visit made by members of the association to Egypt, where they explored available investment opportunities in several sectors and projects, in addition to the facilities offered by the Egyptian government to foreign investors.
Alfardan stressed the Qatari Businessmen Association's aspiration for more investments to contribute to building the new Egypt in a way that serves and achieves the well-being of the Egyptian people, pointing out that there are actual studies for several projects that were developed during the recent visit.
There are many mutual economic opportunities between Qatar and Egypt, he said, adding that Qatar has great investment opportunities in the fields of industry, knowledge, tourism, health, education and other sectors.
Qatar offers investment incentives such as the investment law, free zones, Hamad Port and the single window, Alfardan added, inviting the Egyptian business community to explore these opportunities, as the association is fully-prepared to develop this partnership with the Egyptian private sector — contributing to strengthening the economy of the two countries and forming a strong alliance that is capable of facing international challenges.
The meeting also addressed many issues related to procedures and incentives required by Qatari investors.
General Manager of Qatar Chamber Saleh bin Hamad al-Sharqi said that QC will follow up on the points raised during the meeting with the responsible ministries and agencies in Egypt to facilitate the entry of Qatari investors into Egypt.