Eng Hassan Al Khatib Minister of Investment Foreign Trade, a special meeting with Philip Isler, Director General of the World Economic Forum’s Global Trade Facilitation Consortium, was attended by representatives of the Center for International Private Enterprise and the International Chamber of Commerce.
The discussion focused on strategies to enhance competitiveness in the fields of trade and investment, where Egypt was included among the top 50 countries in the world in trade competitiveness indicators, reflecting the government’s ongoing efforts in this context.
The minister reviewed concrete steps that have been achieved, such as reducing the time for goods to enter the local market from 16 days to 5.8 days, with the goal of reaching just two days before the end of the year. These changes saw a significant reduction in operating costs for the private sector.
As part of the reforms, holidays at ports and work throughout the week have been cancelled, ensuring faster trade procedures. In addition, 29 new procedures have been launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance to boost trade traffic and improve Egypt’s competitiveness on the global stage.
Al-Khatib also stressed the launch of the national trade policy, which represents a strategic vision for Egypt to enhance trade openness and increase export capacity, stressing that it will contribute to engaging in global value chains, expanding market penetration and diversifying exports.
This policy contributes to a clear and stable business environment for investors, and promotes local manufacturing to increase the added value of the national economy.
Mention was also made of the Business Ready draft report, which addresses key challenges and sends proposed reforms to the private sector, facilitating their implementation within nine months.
The minister also presented a review of the new export refund program, which aims to meet the needs of various export sectors and raise the local component, stressing that it will be announced before the beginning of the next fiscal year.
Regarding commercial investments, Khatib pointed to doubling the number of investigations to counter practices harmful to local industry, such as subsidies and dumping, while maintaining a balance between protecting local products and complying with international agreements.
The visiting delegation expressed appreciation for the reforms andGovernment initiatives In improving the business environment and attracting investments, they affirmed their support for the private sector and its active role in economic development. The two parties agreed to continue coordination and expand areas of cooperation during the coming period.
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