CAIRO: Under the auspices of the General Authority for Investment (GAFI,) Cairo will host the large-scale Egypt Megaprojects Conference Dec. 8-9, said Richard Thompson, Editor-in-Chief of MEED, Intelligence Events and Insights which will organize the event.
Egypt Megaprojects is aimed to follow up the progress in investment projects launched during the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) held in Sharm el-Sheikh in March, and it will also provide a platform for showcasing new sector-specific projects, Thompson explained.
“Egypt is the most exciting business story in the Middle East and North Africa region; a big market of 90 million population and promising potentials with mega projects like the Suez Canal Axis Development,” Thompson told The Cairo Post in an interview during his visit to Cairo this month.
During his two-day visit, Thompson met with senior officials at Egyptian ministries preparing to launch investment projects in the upcoming event.
“President Sisi was really smart as he created buzz about Egypt during the EEDC, but he raised expectations… The challenge now is how to meet people’s high expectations despite security instability, currency risks,” he added.
To lure fresh foreign direct investments to bolster a faltering economy since January Revolution in 2011, Egypt should boost investors’ confidence by adopting flexible legislation and procedures.
Thompson further praised Sisi’s “serious” handing of the corruption case in which Former Agriculture Minister Salah Helal was involved. “The latest Cabinet reshuffle was a great thing.”