Ashraf Abo Arafe
On Saturday 23 September, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the UK’s Trade Envoy to Egypt, arrived in Cairo with a delegation of 14 British companies, including Rolls Royce, Bombardier and London International Patient Services.
The delegation will be exploring new opportunities to do business in Egypt, in sectors including infrastructure, defence, healthcare and agriculture. 70% of the companies involved are new to doing business in Egypt.
They will be meeting with Egyptian ministers, including Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, Minister of Investment Dr Sahar Nasr, Minister of Housing Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Trade Tarek Kabil, Minister of Transport Hesham Arafat, Minister of Petroleum Tarek El Molla, and Admiral Mohab Mameesh, Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
They will also be visiting the new administrative capital to discuss opportunities for investment with Chairman Ayman Ismail.
The UK is already Egypt’s number one foreign investor, with $43 billion of inflows this decade and over 1,450 British businesses active. Recent months have seen further growth, with British manufacturer SEWS opening a new factory last month and British telecommunications giant Vodaphone allocating EGP2 billion on expansion this year alone. The UK is also a major investor in Egypt’s oil and gas sector. Oil company BP’s investment in Egypt in 2016 surpassed its investments in any other country.
The Right Hon. Sir Jeffery Donaldson said, “I am delighted to be returning to Cairo with another large Trade Mission from the UK, including a wide variety of British companies that are interested in trading with Egypt. The recent reforms that have been implemented have brought about stronger economic growth in Egypt and this has heightened the interest of British companies in doing business with Egypt. We have an excellent programme of meetings for the Trade Mission and I am very hopeful that significant trade and investment will flow from our visit this week.”
British Ambassador John Casson said, “Investors’ attention has been captured. As Egypt’s economy sees the first fruits of reform, there are golden opportunities to do business here. The private sector is the champion of the next period, as the Government works to build a free, fair and open economy for all Egyptian men and women. It’s exciting time to be welcoming a new generation of British companies that are looking for business opportunities here.
