Under the patronage of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the first Gulf-Egyptian Business Forum was held on Wednesday, November 22, 2023, in Cairo, organized by the Federation of Chambers of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, and with the support of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, under the slogan “Business - Partnership - Investment.” The forum witnessed the presence of His Excellency Engineer Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry of the Arab Republic of Egypt, representing the State of Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, and His Excellency Qais bin Muhammad Al-Yousef, Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion of Oman, His Excellency Jassim Mohammed Al-Badawi, Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, His Excellency Samir Abdullah Nass, President of the Union of Arab Chambers, His Excellency Mr. Hassan bin Mujab Al-Huwaizi, President of the Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers, and His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Al-Wakil, President of the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce.

The President of the Union of Arab Chambers, President of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Samir Abdullah Nass, stressed “the importance of enhancing the prospects for... Joint economic cooperation between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab Republic of Egypt and ways to enhance and develop it in various fields and sectors." Pointing out that “the magnitude of the current challenges resulting from global economic changes requires us to reach common visions and specifications. A connected economy whose role is to maintain economic growth as the basic foundation for continuing the process of sustainable development and opening horizons Wider and more comprehensive cooperation and comprehensive partnerships at all levels and in various commercial, investment and industrial sectors.” ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Nass stressed that the Union of Arab Chambers would spare no effort to support the implementation of the results and recommendations of this forum and will provide all means of support to the Gulf and Egyptian private sector in its serious and effective path towards participating in achieving Sustainable development goals by engaging in joint coordination and integration mechanisms to create a flexible and advanced production system. That is compatible with the ambitions of both sides to create a diversified production base capable of regional and global competition. Nass called for the need to enhance the volume of Gulf-Egyptian trade exchange, which has reached more than 12 billion Dollars annually, in addition to the volume of joint intra-investments amounting to $33 billion, to achieve accelerated economic growth. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

He explained that the trend towards an integrated industrial partnership between the Gulf and the Egyptian markets is very important in building economic and developmental societies capable of achieving integration in various industrial and commercial sectors to face global market fluctuations and protect it from global inflation waves through the complementarity of supply chains. Looking forward to achieving the Gulf- Egyptian Business Forum its goals. In proportion to the size of the strong historical fraternal relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Republic of Egypt. In light of the keenness of Their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of the GCC countries, and their brother, His Excellency Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, to strengthen it and consolidate it at all levels. ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

For his part, President of the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, Ahmed Al-Wakil, stressed in his speech that Egypt has always opened its arms to all partners from various countries of the world, especially the brothers from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, noting the fruitful cooperation between the chamber federations in these countries. Al-Wakil pointed out the importance of achieving integration between Arab countries through joint manufacturing and export to African markets, the European Union, and other regions and economic blocs that are linked with Egypt through free trade agreements.

The forum witnessed many sessions that dealt with cooperation between the Gulf states and the Arab Republic of Egypt and discussed ways to increase economic and investment exchange. Among them: a session on the Arab Republic of Egypt and the economic portal for Africa and the European Union, a session on investment opportunities in the sectors/real estate, food industries, agriculture, and tourism, and a session on industrial integration in the fields of electricity, water and renewable energy, a session entitled Gulf-Egyptian cooperation in the fields of health care, medicine, information technology and digital communications, and a cooperation session in the fields of training, exchange of technological experiences and education.

The second forum session discussed “promising investment opportunities in the fields of real estate, agriculture, food industries, and tourism” in both Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Which was moderated by Dr. Ali Hamid Al-Mulla, Director of the Industrial Projects Department at the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting.

During his participation in the second working session, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, stressed “the importance of the growing volume of intra-regional trade between Egypt and the Gulf countries, which ranges between 27 and 28 billion dollars and is still below the level despite the many advantages that both sides have.”

He pointed out that “the Egyptian and Gulf sides have promising investment sectors in tourism, agriculture, and real estate, which must be expanded through joint investments, in order to confront the obstacles and challenges facing the Arab world, whose population is increasing by 1.7 percent annually with water scarcity, which represents a problem for agricultural and food production.”

He pointed out, "It is necessary to use the technology of the Fourth Revolution, whether agricultural or industrial and use it to improve agricultural methods and irrigation systems, which Egypt has succeeded to some extent in achieving. It is also more important to achieve a strategic alliance, which will be followed by increasing the volume of trade between the two parties."

Recommendations

The first Gulf-Egyptian Business Forum ended with several recommendations that were discussed regarding the need to intensify economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab Republic of Egypt:

First: Calling for this forum to be held on an annual and regular basis, and for there to be a general secretariat that follows up on the recommendations that come out of the forum, and to present them at the next meeting among the most important achievements, with the holding of inter-sectoral meetings.

Second: Searching for technical solutions that contribute to trade and investment exchange between the two countries, such as creating a platform adopted by federations of chambers in which tenders, as well as investment and commercial opportunities, are displayed.

Third: Studying industrial integration between the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Arab Republic of Egypt, especially in light of the European Union countries approving the carbon emission tax, which will affect the growth of Arab exports and the benefit of renewable energy.

Fourth: The necessity of integration in the food industries, especially with the challenges that appear from time to time, such as diseases, epidemics, climate change, and geopolitical conditions, to achieve agricultural and industrial self-sufficiency in the field of food security.

Fifth: Working to increase interest in joint investment in the pharmaceutical industries and medical supplies, joint accreditation of their products, as well as participation in research and development.

Sixth: Emphasizing the necessity of developing economic cooperation in various fields, including joint manufacturing, encouraging investments, developing intra-regional trade, agriculture and food processing, transportation and logistics, tourism, and linking electricity, oil, and gas networks.

Seventh: The necessity of taking advantage of national capabilities and striving to integrate resources, in a way that deepens cooperation in facing the consequences of successive global economic crises.

Eighth: Emphasizing the importance of partnership in deepening the industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Egypt by exchanging production components and requirements and striving to manufacture them for those who have comparative advantages.

Ninth: Emphasizing cooperation through establishing industrial zones and logistics centers, and linking them, to achieve joint manufacturing and joint export development.

Tenth: Emphasizing that trade cooperation between the Arab Gulf states and Egypt is not limited to finished goods only, but rather includes industrial integration processes and production components and requirements, to confront the disruption of global supply chains and to raise the proportions of the local Arab component to penetrate the Arab, African and international markets.

Eleventh: Inviting the chambers of commerce and its members from construction and contracting leaders from both sides to create a strong Arab alliance that works to implement infrastructure projects in Africa and reconstruct Arab countries.

Twelfth: Integration and cooperation between research and training centers, universities, and technological institutes, exchanging curricula that must be in line with the needs of the labor market, creating incubators and linking them virtually, and working in joint research and development.

Source (Union of Arab Chambers)