Cairo will welcome a delegation of the heads of major South Korean companies in August to research potential investment increases in Egypt, according to the economic adviser to the South Korean Embassy in Cairo. The adviser made his remarks during a meeting on Monday with Investment Minister Ashraf Salman and representatives of 11 Asian countries. Salman reassured the representatives of Egypt's economy, and he expressed his hope to deepen trade cooperation with China, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore. Salman said that the government is reforming its finance and cash policies by unifying investment laws, regulating economic legislation, and speeding up the process of incorporating suggestions from associations and boards of directors, all of which aim to restore the confidence of international markets. "The Japanese ambassador invited the Egyptian government to attend the Investment Promotion Conference in Japan, to which only the seven largest African countries have been invited, in order to present opportunities for investments and large projects in Egypt," a Ministry of Investment press release stated. The Japanese ambassador mentioned that Japan owns 50 companies that operate in the Egyptian market in the field of automobile and electrical appliance production. He added that investors hope to enter into new fields like the agricultural and food industries. The ambassadors of Pakistan and China in Cairo called on the Egyptian government to quickly complete an investment roadmap that includes all available projects and toconduct regular meetings and consultations regarding those plans. "We have companies that currently do not operate in Egypt that are ready to supply investments to power generation industries," said the Indonesian ambassador in Cairo. The Indian ambassador mentioned Indian investors' desires to discuss means to invest in new areas like solar energy. The Malaysian ambassador said that investors in his country hope to expand the extent of their investments in infrastructure, transportation, waste management, and "halal" products, in particular because of the presence of a large market for these types of products in the rest of the Asian Islamic countries. "We hope to increase cooperation with Cairo for religious tourism and increase Malaysian investments in energy and construction," he said. Thailand's ambassador indicated the presence of increasing interest in opportunities to invest in Egypt, especially in tourism. The vice chairman of the Australian delegation said that Australian investors hope to invest in agriculture and tourism. "A delegation of Vietnamese investors will soon visit Cairo to consider the investment opportunities available," said Vietnam's acting ambassador. Singapore's acting ambassador mentioned the large range of investments in Egypt from her country as well as Singapore's desire to identify promotional opportunities and increase trade cooperation.
