New York- Ambassador Ahmed Farouk, consul general of Egypt in New York, stressed the importance of the initiative launched by 120 members of the Egyptian community in New Jersey and New York to establish the Egyptian-American Association for Entrepreneurship.
“This association is a good nucleus for future successes, especially with the investment ideas it offers, through which it can promote the Egyptian economy,” said the ambassador.
This came during the fourth annual conference organised by the Egyptian-American Group to Support the Egyptian Economy under the slogan “Yes we can”.
The ambassador praised the role of the Egyptian community in the United States, which—despite the difficulty of living burdens—is also keen to provide Egypt with all the material support in the fields of health, education, and development of slums, among other fields.
In this context, Egyptians abroad launched an initiative to support public hospitals in the financially and technologically poor areas. “Each group of young people can help raise the quality of one hospital or one unit at a hospital,” said Nourhan Saber, coordinator of the initiative. She explained that care of the health of low-income people and children can make a big difference in the social and economic path of families. She noted that the initiative established a fund financed by members of the community.
During the meeting, the ambassador revealed that a second mission will go to the US to provide and renew national IDs for Egyptians living abroad within a few months.
A first mission visited the United States last month and issued 2,000 ID cards.
“The visit of Pope Francis to Egypt came at the right time and had a positive and widespread reaction in American society,” said Hany Nagy, the consul’s assistant. “It assured all the Egyptian state’s ability to achieve stability and fight terrorism.”
The annual meeting of the Egyptian community in New York discussed the importance of the role of Egyptians in America in contributing to the advancement of the Egyptian economy.
In this context, Nasser Saber, president of the Egyptian American Group to Support the Egyptian Economy, called on President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to adopt the idea of organising an annual conference for Egyptians abroad as a forum for dialogue on economic, political, and social issues and how Egyptians can contribute to support the Egyptian economy and help Egypt leave behind this tough phase. He also called for the participation of young Egyptians abroad in the monthly youth conferences. “President Al-Sisi, during his meeting with members of the community here, promised to do so,” Nasser added.
On the participation of the American community in the advancement of the economy, Nasser called on the government to find simplified mechanisms that allow Egyptians abroad to set up US dollar joint stock companies to invest in the 1.5 million feddans project and in the fields of agriculture, industry, and tourism to produce goods and services that fit international standards for exporting, so that their participation does not become limited to the purchase of land and real estate.
“If we seek to attract foreign investment, the Egyptians abroad should be addressed first,” he said, adding that the remittances of Egyptians abroad could increase from $18bn to $28bn through the provision of facilities for Egyptians in investments and money transfer.
“We do not just want to invest in dollar certificates with a return of 3%, but we want a higher and better return investment,” he stressed.
Samir Bassiouni, a US tax judge and co-founder of the Egyptian American Entrepreneurship Association, said that the association will soon launch an interactive portal in both Arabic and English to brief Egyptians on the latest developments in the field of entrepreneurship and real-world experiences in establishing and developing various projects.
Bassiouni pointed to the need for legislative and executive measures to protect the investments of Egyptians abroad in their country, because their time does not allow for continuous efforts to follow up on these investments.
