Cairo, Egypt, 25.06.2013 – Addressing the opening ceremony of the Egypt Investment Conference organized by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Cairo, Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil praised the “great efforts by the IDB Group in supporting Egypt’s economy and creating job opportunities for the country’s youth” and added that, since its establishment, “the projects and funds offered by the IDB Group to various sectors of the Egyptian economy have been unprecedented in terms of volume and
coverage.”
The one day Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo jointly organized by the General Authority for Investment and Free Trade Zones of Egypt and IDB highlighted efforts by the Egyptian government to spearhead socio-economic development. The Prime Minister touched upon the various economic challenges and called on regional and international investors to take advantage of the great business opportunities available within the country.
Another key note speaker, Dr. Amr Darrag, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation presented an account of his ministry’s efforts towards providing job opportunities and upgrading economic development by creating an investor friendly climate.
Speaking at the opening session, Chairman of the IDB Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, took note of the sincere efforts of the government to create the right investment climate in the country and urged to pursue transparency and reconciliation with all investors so that they could continue to contribute to the Egyptian economy. Dr. Ali elaborated upon the total funding so far provided by IDB Group to Egypt, which stands at US$ 5.1 billion in addition to the US$ 3.1 billion for insurance of
investment and export credit operations. He also referred to IDB’s cooperation with the Coordination Group in funding projects to Egypt and mentioned the recent consultative meeting which resulted in a joint agreement to fund a number of vital projects in six priority sectors including energy, transport, health, education, petroleum, and civil aviation. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali further underlined IDB Group’s support for Arab countries including Egypt which are experiencing development
transformation, and recalled the six development projects agreements he signed with the Egyptian government earlier in 2013.
Also at the event, the IDB Group Chairman and Egypt’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Amr Darrag, signed a framework agreement to set up a strategic vision for the IDB Group’s role in supporting economic development in Egypt in the next five years, mobilizing the partnership for providing the required knowledge and financial resources, and facilitating economic and trade exchanges between Egypt and IDB Group member countries to strengthen efforts for attracting foreign
investment.
Senior officials, ministers and diplomats as well as representatives from local, regional and international institutions attended the conference which was organized in the framework of the activities carried out by IDB as the current host to the Secretariat of the Coordination Platform of International Financing Institutions (IFIs) involved in the G8 Deauville Partnership. The Partnership includes the G8 countries plus the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab
Emirates. It is an international effort to support countries in the Arab world engaged in transition with issues of governance, financial support, trade and integration. The current beneficiaries of the Deauville Partnership are Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen.