Minister Attends Davos World Economic Forum in China

As part of the Davos World Economic Forum in China, the Egyptian minister of investment, the Chinese vice minister of national development and reforms, the Ghanaian minister of trade, industry and the private sector, the prime minister of the Malaysian Penang Municipality, the chief of the Colombian Federation of Industries and the deputy secretary general of the UN Economic and Social Commission have participated in a session held to discuss the side effects of the global recession on developing countries and how to revive the global economy.

The Egyptian minister diagnosed the challenges faced by the global economy, calling for not exaggerating or belittling dependence on China to save the world from the economic recession and help it stand on its own feet again.

He emphasized the role each country should play to achieve steady growth rates and overcome the recession. He was echoed by other attendants who said that in spite of the positive indicators in China and elsewhere, the challenges must not be ignored. The Chinese economy constitutes only 7% of the global economy. However, high growth rates in China, its large share in world trade, its huge overseas investments and its interest in boosting cooperation with developing countries in general and Africa in particular increase China's importance and qualify it to top the world economy in the future.

The minister said that as part of the efforts to encourage competition and diversify sources of investment and economic cooperation, there has been a leap in investment and trade exchanges between Egypt and East Asian countries. China has held a share in 865 companies, most of which have been established over the past five years, and this has made this country a huge investor in Egypt. There is also cooperation with Chinese companies to develop the North-West Suez Gulf Economic Zone. Coordination is underway in several projects in the fields of infrastructure, services and manufacturing industries, in addition to the cooperation between Egypt, China and Africa on a number of projects currently being considered

Mohieldin has reviewed the most important economic projects and procedures taken by Egypt to achieve higher economic growth rates. Egypt targets $10-billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which is as much as the average net foreign investments in Egypt over the past three years. There have been efforts to increase these investments by establishing partnerships in infrastructure projects and improving the investment climate in Egypt.

Mohieldin has also stressed the importance of integration into the global economy by promoting investment and trade in order to stimulate growth and increase job opportunities. He has also stressed the need to learn important lessons from the world economic crisis by applying fair rules to all financial institutions.

In addition to the forum activities, Mohieldin held a number of bilateral meetings with the Mauritian Deputy Prime Minister to seek coordination as well as technical and investment cooperation at the bilateral level and within the framework of the COMESA. The meetings also discussed establishing a general framework for the investment round being prepared for the COMESA Member States in coordination with the COMESA regional Investment Agency.

Mohieldin has also met with the head of the Colombian Federation of Industries, and reviewed the investment climate and opportunities in Egypt. The two officials have discussed means of technical and investment cooperation between the federation and Colombian companies on the one hand and the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) on the other.

Mohieldin has also been interviewed by Chinese TV and radio and by a number of specialized economic press agencies.

The Egyptian delegation, which includes representatives of GAFI and the North-West Suez Gulf Economic Zone, met with seven economic groups and institutions in Dalian to review investment opportunities in Egypt.

Mohieldin will file a detailed report on the visit and its outcomes to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.