The director of the Palestinian Businessmen Association says their aim is to enhance economic relations with Egypt and make Egyptian businessmen interested in investing in Gaza A delegation of Egyptian businessmen will visit the Gaza Strip soon to discuss investment opportunities and sign bilateral commercial agreements, said Ali El Hayek, director of the Palestinian Businessmen Association (PBA). In an interview with the Palestinian daily El-Ayem, Hayek said the visit will include meetings between Egyptian businessmen and their Palestinian counterparts, adding that the PBA organized the visit in cooperation with the Egyptian Industrial Federation and the Egyptian Businessmen Association. He added that Palestinians are convinced that cooperation with the Egyptian private sector is the only way to activate the bilateral agreements that were signed by the Egyptian government and the Palestinian Authority a long time ago. “Making Egyptian businessmen interested in investing in Gaza is the first step towards enhancing our economic relations with Egypt,” Hayek said. He added that he discussed with the Egyptian ambassador in Ramallah, Yasser Osman, the possibility of re-opening the commercial side of the Rafah crossing to allow for the export of Palestinian products to the world through Egypt. Hayek also hailed the Egyptian government's grant to Palestinian businessmen of the full freedom to travel to and from Gaza through the Rafah crossing, adding that this would create a positive atmosphere to bring more investment to the Strip.
