Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on Monday conferred with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman at the Ittihadiya Palace before seeing him off at Cairo International Airport at the end of Omani leader’s two-day official visit, his first to the Egyptian capital since becoming Sultan.
Before departing Cairo for Muscat on Monday, Sultan Haitham had toured the New Administrative Capital where he visited the Islamic and Cultural Centre, Masjid Misr, and the Arts and Culture City – two iconic edifices of the NAC.
While touring the Arts and Culture City, Sultan Haitham made stopovers at the Opera House and the Museum of the Capital Cities of Egypt as well as the Culture City’s galleries, theatre houses and libraries.
Summit talks between the two leaders, held on Sunday, were the main highlight of the visit, with President Sisi and Sultan Haitham expressing mutual keenness on consolidating relations and the frameworks of co-operation between the two countries.
The views exchanged during the talks, according to Presidency Spokesman Ahmed Fahmy, reflected accord on the necessity of intensifying efforts to settle existing crises in a way that protects the supreme interests of Arab peoples and safeguards their potentials and gains.
The two leaders also considered in their talks opening up fresh prospects for further co-operation in all fields, building on the positive outcome of President Sisi’s visit to Muscat in June 2022. Trade and economic exchanges have since witnessed noticeable increase.
Another highlight of the visit was the co-signing of an agreement for eliminating double taxation and a memorandum of understanding on financial policies and developments, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA).
Together, the two documents would contribute to the furtherance of economic, trade and investment relations between the two countries.
Both instruments were co-signed on the sidelines of a meeting of the Egyptian-Omani Business Forum that convened in Cairo on Monday with the participation of the Omani Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion, Qais Al-Youssef, and, from the Egyptian side, Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir, Finance Minister Mohamed Maeet and Planning Minister Hala el-Saeed.
In a statement opening the forum, Trade and Industry Minister Samir underscored the key role that business communities in the two countries can play in strengthening economic co-operation between Egypt and Oman, according to a Cabinet statement.
Egypt, Minister Samir said, is looking forward to boosting trade and investments with Oman by activating bilateral and multilateral agreements, especially in light of the close and strategic ties between the two countries.
Noting that the mechanisms for future action by both countries involve stimulating investments to achieve more economic advantages for the peoples of Egypt and Oman, Minister Samir said that Egypt’s political leadership and government stand keen on expanding the scope of partnering by the private sector, local and foreign, in the national economy’s system.
Such keenness, the Trade and Industry minister said, aims to maximise the benefit from the huge investment potential of the Egyptian market in view of its geographical location as the gateway to Africa.
Reviewing the main facilities that the government offers with a view to improving the business and investment climate in the Egyptian market, Minister Samir made special reference to the Golden Licence, granted under the Investment Incentives Law.
The Golden Licence, he noted, is issued through the Cabinet and granted to projects, be they local or foreign, in the areas of priority for the state. Other facilities, he added, include offering lands for industrial purposes at soft financial terms.
In view of the crises that the world is experiencing and their negative effects on economic growth and production, larger integration between Arab country is needed, and the private sector should be regarded as a principal partner in the drive for achieving sustainable development and prosperity for the peoples of the Arab region, the minister said.
On intra-trade between Egypt and the Sultanate of Oman, Minister Samir said a noticeable momentum is increasing year after year, adding that the volume of trade exchange has risen 66 per cent from $651 million in 2021 to $1.8 billion in 2022.
Oman has invested $80.5 million in 110 projects in agriculture, tourism, services, construction, finance, communications and information technology, whereas Egypt has invested $860 million in 142 businesses in road construction and infrastructure, sanitation, real estate and tourism in Oman, the minister said.
For his part, the Omani Trade, Industry and Investment Promotion Minister, Qais Al-Youssef, stressed his country’s keenness to support economic co-operation with Egypt. He also pointed to the importance of enhancing joint efforts to build trade and investment partnerships between the two countries and benefiting from the economic potentials of the Omani and Egyptian economies.
