An integrated programme has been launched to promote Egypt's March Economic Summit, according to the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) in a statement Monday. The programme was started by the FEDCOC during the first quarter of 2015 according to the Federation's head, Ahmed Al-Wakil. The commencement of the marketing programme took place after Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb appointed Al-Wakil and Alaa Ezz, FEDCOC's Secretary General, to act as "ambassadors" for the summit. Both Al-Wakil and Ezz, as well as other delegates, are set to visit several countries and promote the Economic Summit, as well as invite leaders to attend. Two conferences were held last week, one in Brussels and the other in Luxembourg to promote the summit. Business and financial leaders were in attendance, with Ezz explaining the regulatory actions and updates being made on legislations to improve Egypt's investment climate. The Egyptian investment law is being amended to unify the process of obtaining licences and work through a ‘one-stop shop' investment window. It will also set out a mechanism for settling disputes quickly and successfully, according to previous statements made by Investment Minister Ashraf Salman. Ezz further presented opportunities that can be exploited in mega projects, infrastructure, logistics and transport in the country. He also met with and invited European leaders and their funding bodies to attend the summit. Mohamed El-Masry, FEDCOC Vice President, will visit Berlin, Wednesday, whereas Ezz will head to Moscow on the same day. Both will attend conferences in the two countries to present and promote the opportunities in Egypt, reviewing the main actions taken by the government to develop the country's political and economic roadmap. In each country to be visited, opportunities in different sectors will be displayed where more focus will be highlighted on the interests of each country. Moreover, Al-Wakil will fly to Paris to participate in a conference to be held by the Franco-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Paris Chamber of Commerce. Mohab Mamish, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, will be a keynote speaker to present projects on the axis of the Suez Canal. In this event, business and financial leaders from neighbouring countries as Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Portugal will be also invited to attend. Beirut and Barcelona will also witness the attendance of members from the federation to participate in conferences that will be held in February. Furthermore, Al-Wakil had contacted his counterparts in the region to organise promotional seminars in their countries. He also revealed that agreements were made with several banks, funding bodies, development funds and aid organisations, who agreed to display all the financial means they can provide to attract investors. A number of grants for attracting investment in Egypt and for performing sectoral studies were approved in Brussels. The initiatives will be executed through the Alliance of the Euro-Mediterranean business federations (MedAlliance). The Alliance includes five regional business organisations; these include the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce (ASCAME), the Union of Mediterranean Confederations of Enterprises (BusinessMed), the Association of European Chambers of Commerce (Eurochambres), the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce (GACIC), and ANIMA Investment Network. The amount to be granted for the prior mentioned services however is yet to be revealed. The alliance performs the targets of the EuroMed Invest programme, funded by the European Union (EU), which aims to promote investment in transport, telecommunications, tourism, new and renewable energy, as well as information technology. Earlier in December 2014, Ezz revealed that The European Trade Chambers launched new projects in Egypt to develop tourism with a budget of EGP 80m funded by the EU. During the World Economic Forum that took place from 21-24 January in Davos, President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi invited world business leaders to participate in the Summit scheduled to occur in March in Sharm El-Sheikh, to support Egypt's economic development. Moreover the director-general of the Saudi-Egyptian Businessmen Association (SEBA) Ahmed Darwish revealed Sunday that over 1,000 Saudi businessmen and companies in various sectors are expected to attend the March Economic Summit.
