Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, managing director of Commercial International Bank (CIB) suggested Tuesday at the Euromoney conference in Cairo that an economic council be formed to direct Egypt's economic path. "We must take advantage of the opportunity to form councils and the way in which this issue was raised," he said. He explained that an economic roadmap should be set out by the concerned minister with government support from other ministers. He cautioned against each minister starting from scratch and wasting time. This will help improve the government's executive capabilities, Ezz Al-Arab said, adding that this council must be independent and serve an advisory purpose. A separation should take place between the administration and the council itself, he said. Much noise has been made surrounding the economy lately, Ezz Al-Arab said, explaining that "‘businessman' is understood as a bad word and we must correct this conception". Egypt's economy is diverse, he added, saying that a roadmap must be set out in order to direct it. According to Ezz Al-Arab, it is important to know where Egypt will be in 2050, as countries like China have issued production export policies with a long-term vision in mind. He feels that Egypt will be on par with the G20 countries in 50 years.
