The high-level Kuwaiti economic delegation headed by the President of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Al-Saqer met with the Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, in the presence of the Minister of Trade and Industry, Eng. Ahmed Samir, the Chairman of the Investment and Free Zones Authority, Counselor Mohamed Abdel Wahab, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Egypt and its permanent representative to the League of Arab States Ghanem Al-Ghanim, the Vice President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce Muhammad Al-Masry, and the Secretary-General of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Alaa Ezz.
Madbouly stressed the government's keenness to increase the volume of Kuwaiti investments in Egypt during the coming period, as well as its keenness to strengthen partnerships with the local and international private sector, especially with the state's stimulus policies now being adopted to support the private sector. He pointed out that "the Egyptian investment law guarantees the entry and exit of capital and profits for projects at any time, while the government issued a bankruptcy law to protect the investor in the event of liquidation or closure."
He reassured the Kuwaiti delegation regarding ensuring the exit of capital from the Egyptian market if the investor so desired, and transferring profits abroad.
For his part, Mohammed Al-Saqer affirmed that "Kuwait has been following with interest the developments of the Egyptian economic reform program since 2016, noting that we are exploring areas in which the private sector can invest. The volume of Kuwaiti investments in Egypt has reached $20 billion, and we are the fourth largest country investing in it in many fields, including tourism, agriculture, and industry.”
In turn, the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Eng. Ahmed Samir, said in a speech he delivered during the Kuwaiti-Egyptian Business Forum, "Egypt and Kuwait are linked by strategic economic relations based on a long history of joint cooperation in various fields and at all levels," noting that "there is an important role for the business communities in the two countries to work on the development of joint commercial, industrial and investment cooperation."
As for the Egyptian Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohamed Maait, he stressed that "Egypt opens its doors to investment with a strong political will that stimulates the private sector." He pointed out that "the government is looking forward to enhancing Kuwaiti investments to take advantage of unprecedented development opportunities." He pointed out that "Kuwait is the third largest Arab trading partner and the fourth in the world, as Kuwaiti investments in Egypt exceeded $15 billion, while the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to about $5 billion."
In turn, the Vice-President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Egypt, Mohamed Al-Masry, explained that “the visit of the Kuwaiti delegation to Egypt reflects the Egyptian government's keenness to strengthen partnership with the local and global private sector, increasing its contribution to the local economy to reach 65 percent instead of 30 percent at present.” He stressed that "the file of localizing industry in the Arab region is one of the Egyptian state's priorities in the next stage."
On the sidelines of the forum, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce. It was signed on the Kuwaiti side by the President of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Jassim Al-Saqer, while the Egyptian side was signed by the First Vice-President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Muhammad Al-Masry, in the presence of The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, Eng. Ahmed Samir, and the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait. The protocol aims at consolidating and developing direct commercial relations between the two sides, enhancing commercial relations and consolidating and developing economic cooperation between Egypt and Kuwait, whereby the two parties are committed to exchanging information regarding trade exchange, and supporting and encouraging the business sector in both countries to establish companies under the partnership system.
Source (Al-Rai Kuwaiti Newspaper, Edited)
