Fltr: Ms. Edith STEIN, Mr. Ramadan HEGAZY,H.E. Khaled EL BAKLY, H.E. Dr. Sahar NASR, Mr. Qaisar HIJAZIN

Egyptian Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr’s European Tour is a success. On Tuesday October 16th, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in close collaboration with the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and the Egyptian Embassy, organized a Round Table on the occasion of the visit to Luxembourg of H.E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Egyptian Minister for Investment and International Cooperation. For Dr. Nasr, who met with 20 Luxembourg companies, it was the start of a European investment tour.

“Recently, Egypt has adopted an ambitious economic stimulus plan encompassing a number of national megaprojects such as the construction of the New Administrative Capital, a world-class free zone and trade hub along the banks of the newly-expanded Suez Canal, and the largest solar site in Africa. With all these projects among many others, the Egyptian market continues to be the leading market in the region offering unprecedented opportunities capturing the attention of the international investors”, stated Minister Nasr.

There are a number of sectors that are promising both for Luxembourg and Egyptian companies such as ICT, film business, the start-up sector, renewable energy, green bonds and logistics. Luxembourg and Egypt decided to establish a joint committee for economic, technical, and investment cooperation.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), situated in Luxembourg, signed an agreement with the Egyptian government for 214 million euro to support the Kitchener Drain depollution project. This initiative will improve the sanitation and solid waste services for about 6 million people in the Nile delta region (north Egypt). As Minister Sahar Nasr toured in Europe, we learned that the World Bank (WB) has pledged 3 billion dollars for infrastructure projects in the Sinai peninsula - a direct result of negotiations between Egypt’s investment Minister and the WB.

Today, Egypt and the European Union signed agreements for comprehensive growth and job creation, and to combat the challenges of migration in Egypt, with a total value of 135 million euro. The first agreement should allow “to carry out reforms to reduce the burden on the small and medium entreprises (sme’s) sector by facilitating its access to long-term financing as well as facilitating business relations and fostering innovation among sme entrepreneurs”, said Minister Nasr. The program will support seven projects in 15 Egyptian governorates.