During her visit to the UK, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International cooperation Sahar Nasr met with a number of top British officials, discussing the different means of bolstering British investments in various economic and social fields in Egypt.
Egypt’s Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr during her meeting with a number of heads of British officials (Photo courtesy of the investment ministry)
Minister Nasr met with Graham Stuart, the UK’s Minister for Investment at the Department for International Trade, where they discussed increasing British direct investments in Egypt,.
British investments in Egypt currently stand as at a record $47.4 billion.
During the meeting, Nasr urged British firms to increase investments more in Egypt’s sectors of education, transportation, and developing entrepreneurship skills, according to a statement by the investment ministry.
“Egypt is a strategic partner, especially given the country’s partnerships throughout Africa and the MENA region. The UK supports Egypt’s economic reforms, which aim to attract more investments. In this period, more British businesses are visiting Egypt to examine investment opportunities”, Stuart said.
Nasr stressed that Egypt is working hard to attract more British investments in its infrastructure and transportation sectors, as the country builds 14 new cities nationwide, including the New Administrative Capital and New Alamein.
These huge new cities construction projects, especially in Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta region, offer many opportunities for international investors.
The meeting also discussed maximizing British investment in education in Egypt within the framework of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s initiative to invest in human capital and fortify student training through increased cooperation between Egyptian and British universities.
Meanwhile, the UK’s trade envoy to Egypt Sir Jeffrey Donaldson expressed to Nasr his country’s keenness to bolster Egyptian investments in human capital and share British experiences in the fields of health care, education and waste-recycling with Egypt.
“Offering training to Egyptian doctors and establishing a new branch of Coventry University in the New Administrative Capital are steps towards a more fruitful cooperation,” Donaldson added.
On the other hand, Nasr also met with the CEO of the UK-Africa Investment Summit Paul Arkwright.
This meeting discussed the enhancement of UK-African relations, especially that Egypt currently chairs the African Union.
A stronger relationship between Egypt and the UK could provide more support for infrastructure projects throughout the continent, according to Nasr.
Minister Nasr stressed that Egypt has called on all international institutions to support infrastructure projects in Africa, encouraging the private sector to become involved in the process and utilize promising investment opportunities.
Arkwright stated that UK-African Investment Summit, which will be held in London 2020, aims to enhance UK-African relations through concerted efforts among governments, private sector, and international bodies.
The summit is meant to attract investments to Africa and focus on youth empowerment, education, and healthcare issues, he added.
Meanwhile, Chris Grayling, the UK’s Secretary of State for Transport, said the UK wants further cooperation with Egypt on investments, and hopes to encourage more investments in Egypt’s transportation sector.
On the other hand, at a conference organized by the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce, Nasr met with a number of British firms to discuss investment opportunities in Egypt’s market, encouraging them to benefit of legislative reforms that Egypt implemented to improve the investment atmosphere.
Minister Nasr also visited the London Stock Exchange (LSE), meeting with its officials to discuss enhancement cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries.
Source: Ahram Online
