3rd COMESA Forum on 12 Apr, 15 Countries Represented

Sharm el-Sheikh is due to host the 3rd COMESA Investment Forum on April 12 and 13 under the auspices of Egypt's President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

The event will be inaugurated by Prime Minister, Dr. Ahmed Nazif, in the presence of the Minister of Investment, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, as well as ministers from over 15 countries, representatives of the concerned promotional institutions, a large number of participants from China, India as well as Gulf and neighboring Arab countries.

The forum will be discussing the available investment opportunities in the region, especially in infrastructure, in addition to means to fund the economic growth and investment in the sectors that are expected to grow in the coming period, such as agriculture, agro-processing and renewable energy, cooperation in the field of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as trade and industry.

The forum is part of Egypt's continuous cooperation with African countries, in general, and COMESA member states in particular. The conference also aims at increasing chances of regional cooperation, promoting investment opportunities in these countries, and setting up joint projects in the various investment fields.

Dr. Mohieldin stated that "the conference will be a great chance to showcase the investment opportunities available in the African countries for major corporations and institutions seeking to run investments in the continent". He pointed out that the Ministry of Investment had carried out some foreign tours across Asia and the Arab World with representatives of the COMESA member countries in order to promote the investment opportunities in these countries. He said this was part of permanent coordination with the COMESA group with regard to investment-related topics and promotional efforts.

The forum would be focusing on a number of issues relating to the COMESA countries, such as investment opportunities there, economic growth, financing mechanisms, and chances for regional integration.

A few sessions are scheduled to consider COMESA countries' investments, the lessons learnt and previous expertise from private companies in Africa.

Another session is to discuss infrastructure projects and the public private partnership (PPP) to implement infrastructure projects.

Industrialization in the COMESA countries and the promotion of investment opportunities in Africa will be central in another two sessions.