By Menna Zaki
Completing the second part of the presidential election roadmap will help bring stability to Egypt’s economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment, Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour said Thursday in an official statement.
Investors and local businessmen believe that former defence minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who is running president, may be able to “deliver economic stability” – though he may not be the model of democracy, according to Reuters.
Abdel Nour said western governments are unsure of Sisi’s quick-change from armed leader to presidential candidate but said investors “will thank him for it”, Reuters reported.
Abdel Nour announced that a delegation of representatives from Swedish companies will visit Egypt in mid-June to discuss the investment opportunities available in the Egyptian market. He added that the Egyptian government is keen to support the economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and countries of the European Union.
Despite a decline in bilateral trade between Egypt and Sweden in 2013 compared to 2012, Abdel Nour said Egyptian exports to Sweden witnessed a weak increase of 4% in 2013.
Earlier this month, the minister announced that Egypt is seeking to “open a new page” of bilateral economic relations with the United States and address mutual interests between the two countries, adding that the Egyptian economy requires investments with a value of 30% of GDP in order to accomplish a 7% economic growth each year. The Egyptian government is planning to adopt measures to attracted foreign and domestic investments, he said.
