Head of the General Authority for Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Mohab Mamish announced on Sunday that 13 percent of the volume of world trade passes through the Suez Canal.
He added that the SCZone includes many investment opportunities in more than 160 projects, pointing to the presence of Brazilian investment in this region supporting investments in the SCZone.
The Suez Canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia, and is one of the Egyptian government’s main sources of foreign currency.
Mamish’s statements came during a session for the Egyptian-Brazilian Business Forum, which concluded events on Sunday and saw 22 Brazilian companies participate in the forum.
Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr also participated in Sunday’s last session, as well as Brazil’s ambassador to Cairo, Ruy Amaral.
Brazilian companies participating in the forum are investing in trade, tourism, information technology, energy, agriculture, media, small and medium-sized enterprises and construction.
Nasr said that there is a wide variety of investment opportunities, which were reviewed during the meetings of the Egyptian-Brazilian Business Forum, starting with major national projects, particularly the economic zone in the Suez Canal.
She added that the forum also reviewed opportunities for partnerships with the private sector, which the government is seeking to enable private sector to drive growth, and entrepreneurial activities that are administratively and financially supported through Fekretak Sherketak (a nationwide initiative supporting Egyptian youth and entrepreneurs) under the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation.
“This is the most important Brazilian investment delegation ever to visit Egypt,” said Ambassador Ruy Amaral, the Brazilian ambassador to Cairo. “Egypt’s achievements in terms of legislation, economic growth and investment environment attract the attention of investors in Brazil and the world at large,” he said.
Amaral added that Brazilian investors are investing heavily in Ain al-Sukhna and Ameriyah, and there are new groups of investors willing to enter the Egyptian market, who have come to know more about Egypt’s achievements in economic reform.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
