During his visit to Singapore, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the country is determined to “preserve and evolve diplomatic relations and trade with Asian countries”.
In a speech at a business event, Sisi, the first Egyptian president to visit Singapore since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1966, said that his visit “opens the door for bilateral cooperation and mutual benefits for both countries.”
El-Sisi arrived in Singapore on Sunday for a three-day visit as part of his Asian tour. He stressed that his government has been working hard on improving the investment climate in Egypt to attract foreign investments from all over the world.
“The government is making continuous efforts to restore the confidence of investors, Arab and foreign, in the Egyptian economy and has been offering promising opportunities,” Sisi said.
The Egyptian president pointed out some essential steps taken to accommodate foreign investors’ needs, including a new investment law, a newly developed mechanism to resolve disputes that occur between the government and investors, and developing a partnership between the private and public sectors to create more job opportunities.
He also stated that Egypt has signed 29 new deals for oil and natural gas drilling worth two billion dollars.
Sisi also mentioned the breakthrough discovery of the largest natural gas field in the Mediterranean, which was announced on Sunday.
He concluded his speech by pointing out that Egypt’s economy has been progressing positively and recovering.
“Foreign direct investment has increased by about 5.7 billion dollars in the period between July 2014 and March 2015 only,” adding that, “the growth rate has reached 4.1% in 2014/2015 and is expected to reach 5.2% in the current fiscal year 2015/2016.”
Sisi’s visit to Singapore is a continuation of his government’s efforts to attract foreign investments in Egypt following years of political turmoil.
The visit comes after the economic development conference that took place in the Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh last March that was attended by over 2000 delegates from 112 different countries and the inauguration of the new Suez Canal extension in August, that was described by the government as a national project that will boost Egypt’s economy.
Source: Ahram Online
