Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Tuesday Egypt has great opportunities to establish a foothold in new markets, despite the novel coronavirus crisis. Madbouly made the remarks during his participation in a symposium held under the rubric of “the new world order beyond coronavirus … opportunities and priorities”. It was attended by Planning Minister Hala el Saeed and former international cooperation minister Nagla el Ahwany, as well as a panel of politicians, economists and intellectuals. The premier added that the government has been discussing the possible scenarios to deal with the post-coronavirus era. He went on to say that the spread of the coronavirus had enormous repercussions on the national and global economies, noting that a large number of sectors in Egypt have been hit hard, notably the tourism and aviation industries. The prime minister explained that the economic group developed scenarios to address the economic fallout of the coronavirus, while taking into consideration the world mechanism for handling this crisis. He pointed out that the post-coronavirus era might see a big change in global political and economic entities, as each country will work after this plight ends on addressing the disease's impact on its citizens and scrambling to make an economic recovery. The aim behind holding this symposium with senior politicians and economists is to explore the markets and sectors that the government should focus on during the coming period, with a view to maximizing the benefit from the current conditions, Madbouly said. The government will seek with prominent politicians and economists to prepare a working paper involving a number of proposals that can be applied, while taking into account domestic economic conditions and changing global conditions, the prime minister added. On her part, the planning minister said that there are several questions about the possible scenarios after coronavirus crisis ends, and what is related to the global system, whether at the political or economic levels, as well as the sectors to which investments will be directed in the coming period. The participants in the event said the Egyptian market should acquire the largest share of foreign investments during the coming period, especially as the country succeeded in developing its basic infrastructure. They also asserted the necessity of establishing a comprehensive health system capable of facing any health crisis, besides expanding in the field of distance learning. The attendees called for exploring other sources of financing, after high-yielding sectors were greatly affected by the coronavirus, particularly the tourism one, as well as seeking to attract foreign direct investments. They called on the government to increase spending on the information technology industry, in addition to supporting Egyptian cadres in this sector, through providing all needed facilities.
