Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib held a series of high-level meetings with executives from major international firms to review investment opportunities across key sectors of the Egyptian economy.
The meetings, held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, focused on strengthening economic cooperation with international partners and highlighting the government’s reform agenda aimed at improving the investment climate and enhancing Egypt’s competitiveness.
During a meeting with Uber’s Global Chief Operating Officer Andrew Macdonald, El Khatib discussed the company’s operations in Egypt and its expansion plans in smart transportation and technology. He stressed that Egypt represents one of Uber’s key markets in the region, citing strong demand and a broad user base, particularly in Greater Cairo.
El Khatib highlighted Uber’s role in supporting the smart transport ecosystem, creating income opportunities for thousands of drivers, and generating direct employment through its customer service centres. He noted that the government places particular emphasis on improving the business environment for technology companies and digital platforms, ensuring regulatory balance and long-term investment sustainability to support sectoral growth and increase its contribution to the national economy.
The minister also pointed to the significant opportunities offered by the tourism sector for smart transport companies, within the framework of Egypt’s strategy to double tourist arrivals by 2030. He stressed that developing dedicated transport services at airports and tourist destinations, improving service quality, and responding to user feedback are key to enhancing the tourist experience, maintaining market confidence, boosting Egypt’s competitiveness as a destination, and ensuring investment sustainability.
For their part, Uber officials outlined the scale of the company’s operations in Egypt, noting that it supports around 150,000 drivers and serves nearly two million users per month. They also highlighted the operation of a regional customer service centre employing around 400 Egyptian staff serving Europe, the Middle East and Africa, alongside plans for further expansion and increased investment. The officials reaffirmed Uber’s interest in strengthening its role in the tourism sector through services tailored to tourists and its commitment to cooperating with the government to improve service quality and increase its contribution to the Egyptian economy.
El Khatib also met with Olayan Group Chief Operating Officer Saleh Merghany to discuss current and future investment opportunities in Egypt and review the group’s strategy for developing its business locally and regionally.
The minister emphasised Egypt’s strong support for foreign investment, stressing that the government provides full backing to ensure a smooth and productive investment journey. He highlighted the promising growth opportunities in the Egyptian market, noting that a focus on well-governed and transparent companies is key to achieving successful and sustainable investments.
Merghany said Egypt serves as a business incubator for the group, enabling it to develop companies locally before expanding them internationally. He noted that Olayan Group is seeking to expand its investments in several promising sectors, including food, energy and healthcare.
In the same context, El Khatib met with UPL Group Chairman and CEO Jai Shroff to discuss the Indian company’s activities and investments in Egypt, as well as opportunities for joint cooperation.
The meeting reviewed UPL’s long-standing presence in the Egyptian market, particularly in the agricultural sector, where it works with major clients. The company owns agricultural projects and ports, operates diversified import capabilities, and is active in the seed sector. It also develops advanced technologies for coating citrus fruits and mangoes to preserve quality during export, in addition to managing farm processing and packaging facilities.
During the meeting, El Khatib outlined Egypt’s national strategy, led by President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, to achieve food security. He noted that cultivated land has increased from six million feddans prior to the president’s tenure to nine million feddans, with plans to add a further 4.5 million feddans in the coming period.
He explained that the state is working to transfer the management of major agricultural projects to the private sector under sound governance frameworks to improve efficiency and achieve targeted outcomes.
El Khatib also stressed the importance of benefiting from India’s experience in digital financial inclusion, particularly through the national digital ID system, which facilitates access to services and digital payments and enables informal workers to conduct transactions. He said this supports economic formalisation, enhances transparency, and offers an effective mechanism for delivering cash assistance, with significant potential to improve overall economic governance.
The minister noted that Egypt’s population stands at around 110 million, providing a large base for economic growth and development. He added that 60% of the population is under the age of 30, reflecting strong youth potential, while around 30 million people are engaged in education—factors that support investment in agricultural and technology sectors and underpin sustainable development.
In conclusion, El Khatib reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to continued cooperation with investors to further enhance the business environment and position the country as a platform for launching new projects at both the local and regional levels, in line with the state’s development objectives and global competitiveness.
