Mohamed Abdel Wahhab — CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) — met with a delegation from the Saudi National Real Estate Committee this week. The meeting was attended by Muhammad Abdullah Abdul-Aziz Al-Murshed, Chairperson of the Committee; Tarek Shoukry, President of the Real Estate Development Chamber; and representatives of 27 major Saudi companies in the field of real estate development, industry, agriculture, and building materials. The meeting discussed increasing Saudi investments in Egypt and opening new areas for mutual investments between the two countries in implementation of the directives of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to present investment opportunities to Saudi businessmen. The visit of the Saudi delegation came after the official visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to Egypt, on the side-lines of which, 14 investment agreements were signed between the Egyptian and Saudi sides. Abdel Wahab stressed the importance of strengthening investment relations between the two countries, especially in light of what the current period is witnessing in providing unprecedented support to the private sector and encouraging Arab and foreign companies to pump more investments into the Egyptian market, including the construction sectors. This is considering that these sectors are one of the main pillars of the national projects being implemented, such as the Suez Canal axis, fourth-generation cities — such as the New Administrative Capital, New Alamein, and others that aim to create smart cities based on electronic services and renewable energy — in addition to implementing a huge network of roads and bridges to connect national projects and new cities. Furthermore, the meeting dealt with exchanging visions on enhancing cooperation by exploiting the competitive advantages of Egypt as an attractive destination for investment in the region, reviewing the investment opportunities available on the investment map — especially in the national projects implemented by the Egyptian state — and the importance of strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries to rise to the level of historical ties between the two brotherly peoples and the presence of various factors of economic integration. Abdel Wahab also confirmed that GAFI has placed at the top of its priorities the support of companies and investors to pump more investments and overcome any challenges they may face. Moreover, he confirmed that the authority seeks to attract more Saudi investments to Egypt by intensifying communication with major Saudi companies interested in investment opportunities, following up on the expansion of Saudi companies investing in Egypt, as well as introducing the business community in Saudi Arabia to the latest developments in the investment climate.
