FEDCOC plays important role in boosting trade, industry: Min.

CAIRO - 5 February 2020: Trade and Industry Minister Nevin Gamae underlined on Wednesday the important role played by the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) in boosting trade and industry.

There is a close cooperation between the government and the business community to put a comprehensive vision to address challenges facing investors, Gamae said during a meeting with the federation members.

Providing an appropriate legislative infrastructure to improve the business environment is on the top of the government's priorities, she added.

She said her ministry is examining a number of laws and decisions related to industrial and trade sectors to see whether they meet the requirements of the current stage or not.

She added that the federation plays an important role in boosting small and medium-sized enterprises, merging informal economy into the formal one and luring more national and foreign investments to help increase trade and open new markets for Egyptian products.

The minister listened to requests of many members of the federation that revolved around allocating plots of lands to set up permanent or temporary exhibition centers for products in different governorates.

The minister promised to coordinate with the Local Development Ministry and governors to provide needed lands.

The law of small and medium-sized enterprises, which is now being debated by the parliament, includes many privileges to encourage owners of small projects to join the formal economy, the minister said.

Head of the federation Ibrahim el Arabi said the federation is one of the main development arms of the ministry and it is playing an important role in serving the national economy.

He said the federation includes 4.3 million projects that contribute 86 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provide 81 percent of Egypt's job opportunities.