By Ahmed Salama
Business councils have been cancelling their meetings with foreign investors as a result of the political deadlock the country has found itself in and instability surrounding the Constitutional Declaration.
An Ethiopian delegation pushed back its trip to Egypt to an undetermined date, as well as a conference it was scheduled to hold entitled, “rebuilding Sinai.” This came in addition to several Turkish and Qatari delegates temporarily cancelling their investments in the country, as part of a larger move by nearly all business associations to do the same.
“The ‘rebuilding Sinai’ conference was cancelled because of the perpetual state of division that Egypt has found itself in, since voting on the referendum began. All parties involved agreed to push the conference back to an unnamed date,” said the President of the North Sinai Investors Association, Tamer El-Shorbagi.
Ayman Eissa, President of the Egyptian-Ethiopian Business Council, said that this is not the first time that the Ethiopian delegation has cancelled its trip, and that he doesn’t see the situation improving in the coming months.
“Egyptians have not been meeting with their Qatari counterparts because of a lack of stability in the country,” said the Secretary General for the Council of Egyptian-Qatari Businessmen, Adel Rahouma.
Fayez Ezz El-Din, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, said that a number of companies who have gold drilling contracts in Egypt would be ready to pump money into the economy, if not for the unstable political situation. He added that these companies would renew their investments once a clear political vision has been laid out.
Ahmed Galal, representative of the Turkish MUSIAD organisation in Egypt, said that the group has postponed its “City Scape, Next Move” exhibition that was scheduled to be held December 18 of this year. He added that this is the second time the conference has been postponed, and that the political environment in Egypt has led many Turkish companies to delay their investments.
