In the panel titled "Egypt to become region's manufacturing hub," the panellists discussed if Egypt can increase its industrial national product from $40bn in 2013 to $80bn in 2020 and $300bn in 2030. The panel included Cairo Poultry Group Managing Director Tarek Tawfik, Abo Zaabal fertilisers and Chemicals Managing Director, the Egyptian German Automotive's CEO Ahmed Fekry Abdel Wahab, and the Board Member of the Egyptian Junior Association Hany El Habiby. Panellists showed the industrial growth rate is 9% and said Egypt needs to increase this percentage to reach 13% in order to achieve their suggested development. Egypt must focus on attracting investments to introduce new technologies, which in turn will help improve the added value to the industry. Industrial training in Egypt needs development to improve and Egyptian workers have several qualities but need specialised training. They presented improvement suggestions for industrial lands, such as linking facilities and allocating lands for industrial matters. Discussing on how to improve the textile industry in Egypt, they said 24% of non-petroleum exports are textile products. The sector already provides jobs for 1 million workers. They also stressed on making use of Egyptian cotton, which has huge value worldwide. There are around 6,000 textile factories facing many difficulties and facing the danger of exiting the market, the panel said, noting that the government must focus on fixing the major problem instead of thinking about establishing 3,000 new factories. "The government must have a vision on which sectors need more investments. The government can elaborate policies requesting investors to invest in certain sectors," Abdel Wahab said. The panel said Egypt needs funds to implement such policies and that most investments are directed to consumption sectors instead of development.
