My office is widely open to investors

Egypt has opened a new phase of national action aiming at achieving economic renaissance and creating job opportunities for its youth, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi said on Thursday.

Sisi made the statements during a meeting with Spanish Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos and a number of Spanish businessmen in the Spanish capital of Madrid.

"Egypt has a wide range of great projects in the fields of power, infrastructure, transportation and communications," he said, expressing keenness to solve all problems facing Spanish investors in Egypt.

"My office is widely open to any investor willing to invest in Egypt," the president said, adding that a national plan was set to update all axes of the state.

Speaking about the political situation in Egypt, President Sisi said Egypt is eager to finish the last step of the transitional period, namely the parliamentary elections.

He added that the second axis is meant with providing a suitable environment for foreign investors in Egypt with the aim of achieving economic growth and providing social justice.

"A program was launched to train 35,000 Egyptian youths and rehabilitate them for the labor market," Sisi said.

Sisi promised to introduce new legislation in the coming period to combat corruption and boost the investment sector in Egypt.

He shed light on appraisals by the global credit rating agencies and the International Monetary Fund in favor of the economic situation in Egypt.

"The Egyptian government is committed to enforcing all its contracts with foreign companies and settling all disputes without resorting to international arbitration," the president said.

Spanish Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos, for his part, said Egypt is one of the most important African markets not only for Spain, but for the European Union as a whole.

"There are 4,000 Spanish companies willing to invest in Egypt during the coming period following the recent steps taken by the Egyptian government to improve the investment climate there," de Guindos said.

He added that such companies are working in the fields of oil, renewable energy, transportation and water.

"Spain's exports to Egypt have increased to 8 percent past year," he said, urging Sisi to make use of this opportunity to boost Egypt's economy and attract new investments from around the world.

After that, an expanded session of talks was held where the Spanish businessmen talked about the hardships facing their investments in Egypt, atop of which is the power cut.

In this regard, President Sisi reiterated Egypt's keenness to solve all problems countering investors, saying that an urgent plan was developed to overcome the power crisis in Egypt.

He added that the plan will be launched next summer and will provide 13,000 megawatts of electricity.

Sisi praised an initiative by a Spanish railway company to launch a network of express trains in Egypt.

He also invited Spanish investors to contribute to the tourism sector in Egypt, suggesting establishing a tourism project in the Gulf of Suez.

Sisi reassured Spanish businessmen that the situation in Egypt is stable.

In conclusion, President Sisi invited all attendees to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal project in August.
Source: MENA