QBA Meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Planning and economic development
The Qatari Businessmen Association organizes a business lunch in honor of the Egyptian Minister of Planning
Dr. Hala Al Saeed: We invite Qatari businessmen to explore the potential investment opportunities in Egypt
Sheikh Faisal: QBA’s recent visit to Egypt was successful by all standards.
The Qatari Businessmen Association held a business lunch in honor of Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development, in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Ambassador Amr El-Sherbiny, Egyptian Ambassador to the State of Qatar. Al-Saeed discussed a number of joint cooperation topics and followed up on a number of agreements signed during the last period, especially after the last successful visit of the Qatari businessmen association to Egypt, October 2022. Al-Saeed also invited the Qatari business community to explore the potential investment opportunities in Egypt.
The meeting was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, QBA Chairman, Mr. Saud Al-Mana, QBA Board member, and QBA members: Mr. Nasser Suleiman Al-Haidar, Mr. Nabil Abu Issa, Mr. Maqbool Habib Khalfan and Dr. Muhammad Altaf and Sheikh Turki bin Faisal, in addition to Mrs. Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy GM. The meeting was also joined by the Qatari Businesswomen Association, where QBWA board members Ms. Awatif Al Dafa, Ms. Amal Al-Athem, Ms. Natra Saeed, Ms. Mashael Al-Ansari and Ms. Hoda Habibi attended the business lunch as well as Ms. Tahani Saqr, QBWA member, and Ms. Jiskala Khalili, QBWA Executive Director also attended.
During the meeting, His Excellency Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al-Thani, Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association, welcomed the Minister, pointing out that the bilateral relations between the two countries are experiencing positive levels of cooperation, especially that the leadership of the two countries worked very hard to facilitate and improve the opportunities for investment. Sheikh Faisal also stressed out the success of QBA’s last visit to Egypt, in which a number of major and vital projects related to tourism, healthcare, real estate and industrial sectors, were closely discussed.
For her part, Minister Al-Saeed presented what Egypt has accomplished in recent years in terms of large investments in the infrastructure that attracts domestic and foreign private investment, highlighting Egypt's launch of the National Program for Structural Reforms, which is based on several axes, and aims at making the Egyptian economy more capable of Resilience in facing crises.
Her Excellency the Minister also talked about the role of the government in various sectors as a regulator of economic activity according to market mechanisms, while setting some incentives for the localization of industries, by focusing on green economy projects.
H.E. also spoke about the private sector participation law, which was updated to eliminate some obstacles, pointing out that the Sovereign Fund of Egypt is an important investment arm of the state, as it works as a partner for the private sector, by studying investment opportunities and availing them to the private sector, explaining that the fund has a number of Sub-funds that can partner with the Qatari private sector in several guaranteed projects.
Egyptian Qatari projects
The minister also indicated that there is a technical committee currently studying a number of projects that will be presented to the private sector in both Qatar and Egypt, noting the need for economic integration between the two countries, especially since Doha has many investment incentives in addition to the remarkable legislative environment to attract Egyptian investors.
During the meeting, Qatari businessmen raised several points, the most important of which is the establishment of a special fund in which Qatari and Egyptian businessmen contribute and partner with the Egyptian sovereign fund which can then participate in a number of vital and highly productive projects. The minister also confirmed that the currency price in the market is considered fair and its evaluation is correct, as the state has taken upon itself all obligations with regard to imports.