Egypt Economic Development Conference

Egypt Economic Development Conference
مؤتمر دعم وتنمية الإقتصاد المصري
Host country Egypt
Date 13–15 March 2015
Motto Egypt The Future
Venue(s) Maritim Jolie Ville International Congress Center
Cities Sharm el-Sheikh
Participants Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Foreign Dignitaries (incl. 15 HOSG)
Business Executives
Website www.egyptthefuture.com

The Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) was a three-day event that took place in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. On March 13, 2015, over 2,000 delegates from 112 different countries arrived in Egypt to attend the conference.[1]

On the first day, a proposal for a new Egyptian capital city was announced.[2] Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates pledged $4 billion each; whilst Oman said it would provide $500 million.[3] BG Group and BP both made a commitment to invest $4 billion and $12 billion respectively.[4][5]

Background

Further information: Economy of Egypt
See also: New Suez Canal

Following years of political turmoil that have negatively affected the country's economy, the summit aims to show the world that Egypt is on a new track, and to present it as a country full of investment opportunities in many different sectors. It had been initially suggested by the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whose country, along with the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf monarchies, have been the strongest financial and political backers of Egypt's president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi since he led the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood-backed president Mohamed Morsi in the summer 2013, pledging billions of dollars in aid to the new Egyptian government. Sisi, who vowed to tackle the country's economic turmoil since the 2011 revolution, has announced austerity measures to lower Egypt's budget deficit.[6]

In January 2015, the Egyptian government told an International Monetary Fund delegation that it aims to achieve a 3.8% growth rate by June, claiming that Egypt's economy grew by 6.8% in the third quarter of the previous year.[6] During the conference, the IMF's chief, Christine Lagarde, praised the government's 2014 energy subsidy reforms and its plans to increase investment in the country, but she noted, citing World Bank figures, that it takes over 60 days to register property in Egypt and over 1000 days to enforce a contract.[7] The day prior to the event, Sisi ratified a new set of investment and civil services laws following months of fiscal and legal reforms aiming to regulate and improve investment in Egypt ahead of the conference,[8] a move which Lagarde described as "a very good step in the right direction" during her speech.[7]

Organizers

The conference's organizer, Richard Attias, expected the unveiling of over thirty projects "which can attract billions of dollars of investment,"[9] with more than 2,500 high-level attendees, including heads of state, public figures, chairmen and CEOs of multinational corporations among others.[10]

First day

Secretary Kerry Arrives at the Convention Hall.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi began welcoming heads of state at Sharm el-Sheikh's airport hours before the inauguration, including Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir and Emirati prime minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum among others. Meanwhile, the Egyptian minister of environment, Khaled Fahmy, revealed a new LE1.2 billion biofuel project in cooperation with the agricultural sector,[11] while American conglomerate General Electric announced in the first major deal at the conference that it would invest $200 million in a new training and manufacturing facility in the city of Suez and that it had delivered 34 gas turbines as part of a project to supply 2.6 gigawatts to its grid by May 2015.[12][13]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attended the conference and delivered a speech of encouragement to Egypt's economy during an American Chamber of Commerce event.[14] Egypt's irrigation minister, Hossam Moghazy, later discussed with a European Union delegation the One Million Feddan land reclamation project, one of the highlights in Sisi's election campaign a year earlier.[15] The African Development Bank, on its part, announced it would invest in energy projects, particularly in a solar power plant in Kom Ombo and a wind farm in the Gulf of Suez.[16]

While the event was underway, Attias wrote on The Huffington Post that he was impressed by the interest offered by global political and economic leaders to the event. "It is the first time I've witnessed such a strong mobilization and enthusiasm in my 25 years of experience advising countries and companies and organizing international conferences," he wrote.[17]

During the opening ceremony, Sisi gave a speech where he said he hoped to attract billions of dollars by the end of the summit and promised new strategies to support the private sector and investors. He also listed a number of major projects, including the land reclamation project, the New Suez Canal digging project, the Suez Canal Area Development project and the Golden Triangle project among others.[18]

Minister of Housing Moustafa Madbouly announced at the end of the day Egypt's plan for building a brand new capital city extending Cairo to Suez in the east. the plans included constructing 'a world capital' planned to be the same size as Singapore, with plans for a theme park seven times bigger than California's Disneyland, an inner-city airport larger than Heathrow, and 40,000 hotel rooms. According to Madbouly, The idea to build the new city originated from our awareness that Cairo's current population, 18 million, will double in the next 40 years.

Second day

With Business-to-Business Meetings taking place along the day, several speeches and presentations were held starting with Prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab joined by Hisham Ramez, Governor of Central Bank of Egypt, and Ministers of Finance and Planning and Administrative Reform presenting Sisi's administration's vision on how to turn the vision into action showcasing Egypt's economic reform plan. Later Nobel laureate Ahmed Zewail showcased his view on Egypt's technology's future, followed by Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf providing perspective on Egypt.

Under the title 'Egypt: Gateway and Hub' CNN anchor John Defterios hosted a discussion between leaders from global corporations discussing where Egypt stands in their investment priorities followed by a conversation with Joe Kaeser of Siemens. the attendees were:

Later Minister Ashraf Salman exchanged views on the critical agenda for improving the investment climate in Egypt with Ahmet Bozer, President of Coca-Cola International, Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding, Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens, Lubna Olayan, CEO of Olayan Group, Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Weather Investments II and Executive Chairman of Orascom Group, Karim Awad, CEO of EFG-Hermes. Conversation was moderated by Nik Gowing who later had a keynote conversation with Tony Blair.

Regarding Egypt's Energy crisis and under the title of 'Egypt’s Energy Equation', Global executives examined the energy mix in Egypt and how Egypt can best achieve energy security as part of its development plans. Conversation was moderated by Hadley Gamble of CNBC and attended by:

On The Diversification Imperative for Emerging Economies and the demands for a sustainable and long-term growth, Adnan Nawaz of BBC, moderated a conversation between Ken Allen, Global CEO of DHL Express, Ken Jacobs, Chairman of Lazard, Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, Group CEO of Etisalat, Liu Hao, CEO of CAD Fund and Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP.

Five run in parallel Sector-level sessions included an overview from Ministers, presentation of sector opportunities by local investment banks, and input from private sector participants. Sessions were “Sinai Room”: Oil, Gas & Mining, “Red Sea Room”: Housing, Utilities & Development, “Suez Canal Room”: ICT, “Nile Valley Room”: Industry & Manufacturing, “Siwa Room”: Tourism.

International Financial Institutions: Fostering Economic & Social Development session headed by Naglaa El-Ehwany, Minister of International Cooperation, discussed how can the major International Financial Institutions improve the effectiveness of their support for Egypt’s economic development. Representatives of International Financial Institutions were:

Vice Admiral Mohab Mameesh Chairman of Suez Canal Authority ended the day with a presentation titled 'Suez Canal Development: Egypt's Gift to the World'. The presentation showcased the megaprojects of the Suez Canal Area Development Project.

Participants

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not invite Iran, Israel and Turkey as the "criteria do not apply to them" due to their investment levels.[19] Turkey's non-participation is also believed to be a result of the country's strained relations with Sisi's government since the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.[20]

High level delegation

Heads of State and Government at the conference.
John Kerry addressing the audience at the conference.
Country Title Leader
 Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa[21]
 Comoros President Ikililou Dhoinine
 Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades
 Ethiopia Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn[11]
 Italy Prime Minister Matteo Renzi[11]
 Jordan King Abdullah II[22]
 Kuwait Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah[11]
 Lebanon Prime Minister Tammam Salam[11]
 Libya Speaker Aguila Saleh Issa[11]
 Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta[11]
 Oman Prime Minister Yahia bin Mahfouz Al Manthiry[11]
 Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas[11]
 Rwanda President Paul Kagame[23]
 Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Muqrin[11]
 Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud[11]
 Sudan President Omar al-Bashir[11]
 Tanzania Vice President Mohamed Gharib Bilal[24]
 United Arab Emirates Vice President and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum[25]

Government representatives

Country Title Leader
 China Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng[11]
 France Minister of Finance Michel Sapin[11]
 Germany Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel[26]
 Malawi Minister of Trade and Industry Joseph Mwanamveka[11]
 Eritrea Minister of Foreign Affairs Osman Saleh
 Russia Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev[11]
 Spain [11]
 United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan[25]
 United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond[11]
 United Kingdom former Prime Minister Tony Blair
 United States Secretary of State John Kerry[11]

Multilateral organisations

Organisation Title
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde[11]
World Bank Group Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Egypt’s Economic Conference Launches Today With 2,000 Delegates From 112 Countries". Egyptian Streets. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "Egypt to build new administrative and business capital". BBC News. 13 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Gulf Arab allies pledge $12 billion to Egypt at summit". Reuters. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "BG to invest $4 bln in Egypt over two years -coo". Reuters. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Looking to Egypt’s energy future". BP. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Analysis: Will investment solve Egypt's economic woes?". Aljazeera. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 "IMF's Lagarde: Right policies key to meet Egypt's economic goals and reforms". Egypt Independent. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Egypt’s president ratifies investment and civil services laws". Al-Ahram. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Salem, Mona (13 March 2015). "Jihadi-targeted Egypt courts foreign investors". The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Richard Attias & Associates, Executive Produces the Egypt Economic Development Conference for the Egyptian Government". CNBC. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Egypt garners pledges of financial and political support on 1st day of Sharm conference". Al-Ahram. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "General Electric plans $200 million facility in Egypt canal city". The Economic Times. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "General Electric says it has delivered 34 gas turbines to Egypt". The Economic Times. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Klapper, Bradley (13 March 2015). "Kerry promotes US investment in Egypt, but brings with him no new military aid". U.S. News. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Egypt's irrigation minister in discussions with EU delegation over 1 mn feddan project". Al-Ahram. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Egypt investment summit kicks off in Sharm El-Sheikh". Asharq Al-Awsat. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  17. ↑ Attias, Richard (13 March 2015). "Egypt Economic Promises". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Egypt's Sisi promises 'appealing investor climate' at Sharm conference". Al-Ahram. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  19. ↑ "Turkey, Iran, Israel out at Sharm Conference; Qatar in". Al Ahram. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Turkey absent from Economic Summit after strained diplomacy with Egypt". Daily News Egypt. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "HM the King participates in Egypt Economic Development Conference". Bahrain News Agency. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  22. ↑ "King takes part in Egypt economic conference". Jordan News Agency. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  23. ↑ "Kagame in Egypt for investment summit". New Times. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "Makamu wa Rais Dkt Bilal awasili Sharm el Sheikh". Michuzi Blog. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  25. 1 2 "Mohammed announces $4b support to Egypt". Gulf Today. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Germany invites Egyptian president for state visit-Handelsblatt". Reuters. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.

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