Fifty-three major international companies from the United States are looking for new investment opportunities in Cairo this year, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt Anis Aclimandos said.
Aclimandos told Daily News Egypt that the chamber is currently coordinating between the US delegations and the Egyptian government to hold an economic forum under the title “Egypt Competitiveness Forum” in March 2016. The forum will be organised by the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU).
The Ministerial Economic Group, representatives of Egypt’s largest economic institutions of public and private sectors, and major US companies are participating in the forum.
Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil said the forum will present remedial actions taken by Egypt to improve the investment climate. It will also introduce the competitive potential of the Egyptian market as a destination for foreign investment.
The forum will discuss how to strengthen Egyptian-US cooperation in both the public and private sectors to ensure the application of recent reforms, and to increase trade and investment exchange. According to Qabil, the forum will also discuss the most important economic and legislative reforms that would increase Egypt’s competitiveness in attracting foreign investment.
“The Egyptian Economic and Commercial Office in New York contributed to the forum’s preparation in cooperation with the BCIU. The forum is to be held in Cairo for the second time, where it was organised before in 2015 in the presence of the prime minister,” said Qabil.
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi met with members of the BCIU and a number of major US companies during his visit to New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015.
The BCIU is considered one of the most important international associations in the United States; it was founded in 1955 as an initiative directed by former US president Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was established to develop international trade by promoting mutual dialogue between government institutions and the private sector.
According to the Egyptian Economic and Commercial Office in New York, about 200 companies working in various fields have membership in the BCIU as of 2015.
The BCIU provides logistical support by organising bilateral meetings between companies looking for opportunities to trade and invest around the world, and governmental institutions of various countries. It also supports the dispatch of trade missions, and organisation of conferences and forums to offer commercial and investment opportunities in different countries. BCIU also provides consultancy services as market studies and training programmes.
