The ‘Invest in Africa’ forum will be held this year in the New Administrative Capital, to explore new horizons that will shape a better future for the people of the African continent and achieve their development priorities within the framework of the ambitious African Agenda 2063, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, said.
The ministry of investment and international cooperation launched the forum’s official website on Sunday where Al-Sisi issued a welcoming speech for the forum’s guests and participants. The website also opened registration access for those who aim to attend the conference.
Egypt has worked with its brotherly African countries to translate the reform programmes into operational steps, which reinforces them and turns them into a reality during Egypt’s leadership of the African Union, Al-Sisi noted.
Africa has made an important historic step on the road to continental economic integration, namely setting the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement into action and the launch of its implementation tools at the Exceptional African Union Summit in Niger on July 7, 2019, the president added.
This summit also witnessed the endorsement of the final steps for the liberalisation of trade and services, the completion of competition regulations, dispute resolutions and intellectual property protection as the main pillars in opening and controlling markets to encourage all investors from different countries to invest in Africa in order to achieve mutual benefits, the president said.
“African countries are taking strenuous steps towards achieving sustainable and inclusive development under the 2063 Agenda. African countries are seeking to build successful partnerships with international and regional financial institutions,” he noted.
African countries’ cooperation with international partners will enable them to achieve their ambitious development agendas by providing the funding required to support infrastructure projects, and the continental connectivity projects that will prepare and create an attractive and competitive environment for domestic and foreign investment, he affirmed.
Sustainable development is a necessity for the people of Africa, he said, noting, “We will achieve it with more cooperation, mobilising efforts, increasing trade, boosting investment, and promoting more private sector participation while emphasising the commitments at the highest political level of the reform efforts, capitalising on the potentials and competitive advantages possessed by African countries which enable them to grow sustainably.”
Africa is a young continent with a young population. Youth account for the highest percentage of its population, which encourages us to continue investing in our human capital, health and education, through building cadres and skills, the president asserted.
“I call on all African partners to take advantage of the grand investment opportunities in the continent, in addition to financing continental interconnection infrastructure projects in the fields of roads, railways, energy, and the maritime sector,” the president highlighted.
The president concluded by hoping that this year’s Africa 2019 Conference will contribute to the continent’s continued development efforts.
