Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with several Qatari investors and board members of the Qatari Businessmen Association and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Doha on Tuesday.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairperson of the Qatar Chamber, said that this meeting aims to discuss aspects and opportunities for cooperation between the Qatari private sector and its Egyptian counterpart in the economic, commercial and investment fields.
He said that this meeting seeks to enhance cooperation, establish alliances between Qatari and Egyptian companies, and promote mutual investments to reach higher rates of trade exchange, which has witnessed remarkable development in recent years, as it recorded the QAR 350m ($96.13m) in 2022, compared to QAR 239m in 2021. This marks a growth rate of 46%, compared to QAR 159m in 2020, with a growth rate of 120%.
He said that Qatari businesspersons are following the remarkable developments in the Egyptian economy, and the huge boom that Egypt is witnessing, whether in the field of infrastructure or development projects, which provide many investment opportunities.
This is considered an incentive for Qatari business owners to direct their investments to the Egyptian market, especially with the existence of feasible opportunities in various sectors such as agriculture, food security, industry, real estate, hospitality, and others.
During the meeting, Hussein Al-Fardan, Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Qatari Businessmen Association, said that there are several mutual economic opportunities between Qatar and Egypt.
“There are great investment opportunities in Qatar in the areas of industry, knowledge, tourism, health, education, and other sectors, and our country offers investment incentives such as the investment law, free zones, Hamad Port, and the single window.”
Al-Fardan called on the Egyptian business community to discover these opportunities and said that the Qatari Businessmen Association is fully prepared to develop this partnership with the Egyptian private sector in a way that contributes to strengthening the economy of the two countries and forming a strong alliance capable of facing international challenges.
Meanwhile, he expressed the importance of signing an agreement on non-double taxation between the Egyptian and Qatari sides. In this context, Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, confirmed that he is also in negotiations to sign another agreement with the Qatari side in the field of customs.
Several investors touched on the importance of incentives for many projects. Madbouly affirmed that the Egyptian state is ready to approve any incentives that would encourage investments in various fields as long as they will serve investors.
“I asked for incentives to be introduced, and we were able to get that through Parliament in a few days,” he said.
Qatari investors expressed their desire to speed up the establishment of the Egyptian-Qatari joint investment fund with a large capital during the coming times.
Qatari businessmen presented the features of the projects they wish to establish in Egypt in several fields, including the food industry, the health sector, the tourism sector, and the information technology sector.
Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and Chairperson of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, said the fund may provide some buildings for the Qatari investors wishing to invest in the hotel sector. She added that work is underway to establish a joint Egyptian-Qatari investment fund and that the Egyptian-Qatari investment forum, to be held in Cairo, will be an important opportunity for both sides.
During the meeting, Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, presented investment opportunities in the industrial sector in Egypt, pointing out that the government has a list of priority projects at the current stage, and pointing out that the food security sector is a top priority.
