Egypt's Investment Ministry signed a number of agreements with development partners in the financial year 2017/2018 to support the implementation of a number of national projects in the sectors of energy, transport, education, health, and infrastructure. The agreements also aim to support the economic and social reforms undertaken by the government, Minister Sahar Nasr said on Tuesday. This came during her participation in the meeting of the Economic Committee of the House of Representatives. The minister of investment reviewed the investment strategy and the participation of the private sector in development, pointing out that doubling investment in various fields is a priority for the government, while ensuring that these investments can provide real job opportunities and economic returns to the state, citizens and investors. She explained that the aim of the ministry is to facilitate and develop the management of investment,eliminate bureaucracy, encourage entrepreneurship among young people and attract investments. She added that the General Authority for Investment established several branches of investors' service center in the cities and governorates of the republic,equipping the branches with the necessary technologies to support the provision of services. Currently,the main center is located in Cairo, with seven centers located in 10th of Ramadan, 6th of October, Alexandria, Ismailia, Assiut, Sohag, and Jamsa, serving about 19,000 companies in different governorates throughout the country. "In addition to the expansion of existing centers in the free zone in the governorates of Ismailia, Sohag, Assiut and 10th of Ramadan, and providing these centers with modern technological to ensure the same level of efficiency in the capital, governorates and urban cities," she added. Nasr noted that there are four new centers under construction in accordance with the plan approved in the second phase, they are in the provinces of: Qena, Sharm El-Sheikh, Fayoum, and New Valley. The minister confirmed that the electronic signature was activated in the system of establishing companies in light of efforts to simplify the procedures for obtaining investment services. The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) also launched the pilot operation of the “Authorized Electronic Establishment Representative” programme to develop the skills of electronic establishment of individual enterprises to activate the digital transformation system in the authority and facilitating the process of providing services. According to the minister, Egypt has submitted eight centers in the Doing Business report issued by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. The report praised Egypt's reforms to improve the investment climate and streamline procedures in five areas: establishment of companies, access to credit, protection of small investors, payment of taxes and settlement of insolvency in order to help create jobs, attract investment, and increase the competitiveness of the economy. The report pointed out that Egypt carried out the highest number of reforms compared to other Arab countries in 2018, and that the reforms carried out by Egypt in the field of improving the investment climate in one year were the most various and effective in ten years. She also referred that Egypt comes second among countries implementing reforms in the MENA region. Source: Egypt Today
