State exerted utmost efforts to promote general investments: Participants in national dialogue

CAIRO - 14 June 2023: Participants in the national dialogue session said that the State has exerted relentless efforts to promote general investments and benefit from its assets.

This came during the session of the committee on public investments and state ownership policy which was held on Tuesday.

Representative of the Reform and Development Party at the Senate Abdel Khaliq Aiyad said that it is necessary to enrol into the general investments sphere and bring about fundamental changes, especially after the ensuing challenges which are besetting the sector.

He, meanwhile, called for issuing a unified legislation and clear-cut laws in order to be applied on all parties.

For his part, Senate member Ahmed Sabour said that the political leadership paid great attention to the industrial sector over the past period.

He further said that it is necessary to amend several laws and regulations related to industry.

He also suggested establishing a higher supreme council for logistics to be affiliated to the president of the republic in order to support the State's efforts to transform Egypt into one the world's leading logistics hubs.

Meanwhile, former trade minister Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour said that the State's plan to exit from some sectors is part of an announced policy by the government, according to the State Ownership Document.

For his part, economic researcher Raed Salama said that the it is important to give the investment banks some degree of freedom of movement in implementing the State Ownership Document. 

Representative of the Republican People's Party Karim Salem said that the State Ownership Document represents a start toward talking about general investments in Egypt, as well as the government's roles in serving the national economy.

He further underlined the need of merging the specialized entities inside each governmental sector in one entity and implementing performance indicators standards in different governmental bodies.

Senate member Ahmad Samir said that the general investments went up over the past period.

The upcoming period will witness the increase of investments by the private sector, he predicted during the national dialogue session.

For his part, MP Amr el Said suggested establishing a fixed system for issuing different licenses for all investors.

Meanwhile, representative of the Conference Party said that the State Ownership Document has forged a clear-cut plan for the State's exist from several activities.

It is important to look for new ideas in order to prop up the State's resources, he added. 

MP Mohamed Abul Enein has stressed that the national dialogue will have great results for the political and economic life in the country.

He pointed out that the national dialogue’s recommendations will be the base for developing Egypt’s future vision to tackle global challenges.

For his part, Ashraf El Araby, president of the Institute of National Planning (INP), said the state plays balanced economic roles through developing rules and systems for different sectors and prioritizing investments.

He added that overpopulation is a big challenge for the state, underlining the need to set a sustainable economic example based on investment and governance. 

awmaker Adel Lamie, member of the Senate, said the state spent EGP 2 trillion to invest in the sector of transport, in addition to spending billions on upgrading ports and logistics zones.

He underlined the need to form a ministry of investment to boost dialogue with foreign investors and market Egypt’s investment opportunities.

For his part, Ahmed Mashary, representative of the National Alliance for Civil Development Work, lauded the presidential health initiatives over the past years.

He underscored the need to enforce the roles of control and supervisory bodies and reconsider the tax system.

MP Nabil Askar, hailed the State Ownership Document which encourages the private sector to be more involved in the national development process.

He asserted that it is necessary to develop and promote tourism activities through having better coordination among the ministries concerned.