Egypt’s PM meets with tourism investors in Sharm El-Sheikh ahead of IPAs Africa Forum

CAIRO – 11 June 2021: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli met on Thursday with tourism investors in Sharm El-Sheikh city, ahead of the first forum of the heads of African investment promotion agencies (IPAs) scheduled for June 11-14.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enani.

The forum comes under the slogan "Integration for Growth." It is organized by the General Agency for Investment (GAFI) under the auspices of the Cabinet.

The event will be attended by ministers and chairpersons of investment authorities from 34 African countries as well as representatives of African economic institutions.    

The IPAs Africa Forum 1 will be inaugurated by Madbouli. Top attendees include Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Wamkele Mene, the CEO of the World Association for Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), and African Union (AU) Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Amani Abou Zeid. Further, Egyptian businesspeople who have successful experiences of investment in Africa will participate.

Chairman of GAFI Mohamed Abdel Wahab stated that a number of MoUs will be signed between the authority and a number of its African counterparts on the sidelines.  

Abdel Wahab pointed out that the forum backs efforts aimed at achieving one of the goals of AU Agenda 2063 that is bolstering inter-African investment to boost growth.

The Egyptian official added that GAFI is ready to provide technical support, experience, and information to fellow African investment authorities empowering them to face the repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on investment inflow.

GAFI has also set meetings between Egyptian businesspeople and heads of African investment authorities to examine investment opportunities, particularly in the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy, and get acquainted with funding mechanisms and incentives.

Additional reporting by Noha Al-Tawil