Egyptian President speaks to U.S. Chamber of Commerce

CAIRO – 4 April 2017: Egyptian President Abel Fatah al-Sisi visited the headquarters of the United States Chamber of Commerce Monday, where he met with Chamber CEO Tom J. Donohue, Chairman of the Egyptian-American Business Council John Christmann and CEOs of 12 of the biggest U.S. companies, according to a presidential statement.

Sisi expressed his appreciation for the role played by the council and the chamber in promoting economic and social relations between Egypt and the U.S., adding that he believes in the important influence of the private sector and the chamber in supporting these relations.

The Egyptian President further referred to his conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House earlier, stating that it centered on “the strategic relations that have connected Egypt and the U.S. for almost four decades.”

“In these talks, I touched upon our common views on the need to strengthen cooperation between the two countries at all levels and to work together to meet the common challenges facing us,” Sisi said. “Egyptian-American cooperation has always been one of the pillars of security and stability in the Middle East. Today, our region needs more cooperation to achieve our common goals,” he added.

Donohue expressed his appreciation for Sisi’s efforts to establish security and stability in Egypt, especially in light of the situation in the region, in addition to Egypt's courageous economic reforms, Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef stated, adding that Donohue stressed the significance of Sisi’s visit as a sign of a new start between the two countries.

The meeting also witnessed an open dialogue with the presidents of major U.S. companies, who have expressed interest in working in Egypt or expanding their existing projects, Youssef said, stating that the Ministers of Finance, Investment and International Cooperation, and Trade and Industry responded to their inquiries and discussed their plans to invest in Egypt.

“The President assured the heads of the companies that Egypt is keen to maintain continuous communication with investors to identify the problems and obstacles facing them and work to solve them,” the presidential statement read.

In his speech to the chamber, Sisi referred to the political changes that have imposed great burdens on the Egyptian economy and made restoring political and security stability and reforming economic imbalances of the utmost importance.

“As you all know, Egypt has completed all its democratic entitlements; and in the current period we are implementing a serious program of economic reform in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, as well as taking concrete steps to provide an attractive environment for investment,” the Egyptian president said.

Sisi explained Egypt’s economic reform program and the “unprecedented decisions” taken by the government in this regard, such as the floatation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016.
He also emphasized the great importance that the government attaches to the contribution of the private sector to the development process and in the implementation of major national projects.

“We are fully aware that what has been done so far is only a step in a long and arduous process and we are committed to completing our efforts to achieve comprehensive economic reform and put Egypt in its rightful position in the world economy and trade map,” Sisi concluded. “I assure you that we are moving at a steady pace until we reach the goals we aspire to, and grant the Egyptian citizen the best future he deserves.”