Dr. Mohamed Awad:
• GAFI is working to develop sustainable solutions to ensure the governance of family-owned businesses and enhance their continuity across generations.
• We seek to support the growth of Egyptian companies through a variety of tools and mechanisms.
• Egypt possesses promising opportunities to strengthen its presence in African markets through investment and trade partnerships.
• We aim to maximize the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to support Egyptian exports and increase their access to African markets.
Eng. Medhat Hatem Al-Qadi:
• Expanding industrial and service-oriented private free zones supports the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and enhances investment attraction.
• The shipbuilding, shipping, and logistics services sectors offer significant growth opportunities, supported by the continuous development of infrastructure.
• Alexandria possesses substantial potential to strengthen its role as a regional investment and trade hub.
Pursuant to the directives of Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT Minister), to promote investment growth and empower the private sector to lead development efforts, Dr. Mohamed Awad, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), met with a delegation from the Alexandria Business Association (ABA), headed by Eng. Medhat Hatem Al-Qadi, to discuss the investment plans of the Association’s members and the government's efforts to improve the investment climate and enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy.
Dr. Mohamed Awad emphasized GAFI’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with the business community as a key partner in achieving economic development, highlighting the importance of providing a supportive investment environment that enables companies to grow and expand both domestically and internationally.
He further noted that GAFI is working on developing sustainable solutions to ensure the governance of family-owned businesses in Egypt, which constitute one of the main pillars of the national economy. He underscored the pivotal role of these businesses across various economic sectors, noting that family-owned enterprises account for approximately 45% of Egyptian companies, while only 3% continue into the third generation. This underscores the need to develop supportive mechanisms to ensure their sustainability and enhance their capacity for growth and expansion.
He added that GAFI is developing several solutions to address this challenge, including encouraging listings on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), enhancing commercial mediation mechanisms, and leveraging international best practices in a manner that aligns with the needs of the Egyptian market.
The two sides also discussed organizing a joint investment conference under the auspices of GAFI and ABA to explore opportunities for increasing exports to Africa and strengthening Egyptian exports, in line with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the government's plan to double Egyptian exports by 2030.
Dr. Mohamed Awad further emphasized that Egypt can capitalize on its advanced position among African destinations for investment inflows to build partnerships between Egyptian and foreign investors, thereby facilitating access to African markets and maximizing economic returns for all stakeholders.
The meeting also addressed ways to support the expansion of Egyptian companies into foreign markets and provide the tools and services necessary to enhance their competitiveness, thereby contributing to increased export growth and creating new opportunities for investment and business expansion.
For his part, Eng. Medhat Hatem Al-Qadi proposed expanding the application of the industrial and service-oriented private free zone model, particularly in sectors where Egypt enjoys promising competitive advantages, most notably shipbuilding, shipping, logistics, and other service industries. He noted that this proposal builds on the significant progress Egypt has achieved in developing its road networks, ports, and infrastructure over recent years.
The two sides also discussed opportunities to leverage private free zones as a tool to enhance production and exports and attract high-quality investments, thereby supporting the state’s efforts to increase private-sector participation in economic activity and raise growth and employment rates.
Eng. Medhat Hatem Al-Qadi affirmed that ABA believes that an effective partnership between the public and private sectors constitutes the cornerstone of achieving sustainable economic development and strengthening the position of Egypt in general, and Alexandria in particular, as a leading investment and trade hub, with positive impacts on job creation and sustainable growth.
At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides agreed to continue coordination and cooperation during the coming phase and to study the proposals presented and develop implementation mechanisms to maximize the benefits of the available investment and export opportunities, thereby supporting the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and achieving the objectives of sustainable economic development.
