Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr is scheduled to fly to Lebanon on a two-day visit to participate in the Egyptian-Lebanese Business Forum, which is taking place in Beirut. The forum is scheduled to be opened by the prime minister of Lebanon, Saad El-Hariry, on Thursday. 200 businesspeople from both countries will participate, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Investment on Wednesday. The statement added that Nasr is preparing the eighth meeting of the supreme committee headed by both prime ministers of Egypt and Lebanon, which is supposed to take place in Cairo in March. The meeting should discuss improving the bilateral investment and economic relations. Nasr said in the statement that the presidents of both countries are interested in the meeting of the supreme committee, which hasn't gathered since 2010, adding that relations between Lebanon and Egypt are already improving. Egypt is looking forward to more cooperation with Lebanon after it became more politically stable, the statement read. Nasr added that she will talk with a lot of Lebanese investors and businesspeople to discuss the removal of all problems they might face in Egypt, which aims at attracting more investments and benefiting the available sources in Egypt. "The meeting is very important because it will establish the Council of Lebanese-Egyptian Businessmen, which will play an important role in increasing the exports to Africa through the initiative of ‘Egypt-Lebanon to Africa' that will create a breakthrough in the Arab economy," the statement read. The minister is supposed to sign agreements and memorandums of understanding that will enhance bilateral relations in all economic fields. She also said that the committee will work on removing any obstacles that might prevent raising the value of trade exchange. It's worth mentioning that Lebanon is ranked 13th out of the countries investing in Egypt. It has 1,416 companies there—with a total capital worth of $1.2bn—which create more than 30,300 job opportunities. The investments are all over different fields, such as tourism, services, and industry.
