Minister: Investment-friendly climate is a must State strengthens communication channels with business community

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maaet reviewed on Friday efforts of the General Administration of Investor Services to iron out any obstacles facing the business community, especially in terms of tax and customs systems.

The efforts are part of the government’s drive to stimulate investment by creating a business-friendly environment for boosting production and exports. These efforts target sectors of priority for development in a bid to bolster Egypt’s competitiveness regionally and globally, taking advantage of the country’s strong infrastructure in a way that helps achieve national objectives.

Strategic goals

The state aims at improving the standard of living of citizens and as well as the public services provided to them via boosting the private sector’s role to drive development and bolster diversification of the national economy in a way that would create more jobs.

Minister Maeet has also stressed the importance of strengthening communication efforts with the business community to lure more local and foreign investment flows.

The government is working on facilitating tax and customs services in a bid to stimulate investment by identifying the challenges that investors may face through communication channels.

The minister called for deepening coordination and co-operation with foreign embassies in Cairo, especially of countries that have investments in Egypt, as well as chambers of commerce, the Federation of Egyptian Industries, export councils.

Dialogue with business community

For her part, Nisreen Lasheen, head of the General Administration of Investor Services, said that there are multiple mechanisms for receiving requests from local and foreign investors, citing dialogue meetings held by chambers of commerce, business organisations and foreign embassies.

“Over the past three months, we have succeeded in completing 364 applications in various sectors for foreign companies from 10 countries, including France, United States, India, China and South Korea,” Lasheen said.

She has noted that129 other applications are “currently being examined”, pointing out that her agency aims to raise completion rates by reducing the time spent on examining.

“This reflects the increasing keenness to interact positively with the business community and advance efforts to empower the private sector and facilitate procedures,” she added.