Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that she is studying new measures to improve the business environment in Egypt and reach the targeted growth rates. It came during Nasr's visit to Lebanon last week, where she held seven meetings with a number of Lebanese investors operating in Egypt to review their plans for the upcoming period and remove any obstacles facing their projects in Egypt, according to a statement issued by the investment ministry on Saturday. Nasr has met Lebanese investor Fareg Sabonegan, who works in the stainless steel sector and has a number of different projects in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Kuwait, and seeks to invest in Egypt. Nasr invited Sabonegan to participate in the Lebanese-Egyptian Business Council scheduled on the sideline of the 8th session of the Egyptian-Lebanese Joint Higher Committee scheduled to be held in Cairo from 22 to 23 March. Nasr also met Lebanese investor Gehad Al Arab who works in real-estate investment. The meeting tackled the new investment law, as well as investment guarantees and incentives. In addition, Nasr met investor Karim Baalbaki and assured him that the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation is working to resolve all the obstacles hindering Lebanese investors in Egypt. The minister also met Lebanese investor Wasem Hanina who works in the electrical cables sector. Nasr assured Hanina that her ministry works to develop the investment climate as the government aims to apply its economic reform programme. Nasr referred to PricewaterhouseCoopers's report that predicted the Egyptian economy will rank 19th among the world's largest economies by 2030, with an economy size up to $2tn (based on purchasing power parity), and will rank 15th in the world by 2050, with a size of $4.3tn. Nasr also met investor Adib Hashim who works in the cement sector and aims to launch new projects in Egypt. Nasr invited Hashim to visit Egypt in mid-March, to learn about investment opportunities in Egypt, especially in the Suez Canal development zone. Moreover, Nasr met with investors Nageb Hadad and Ghassan Ashkar who have large investments in Egypt in Zara and Virgin Megastores, as well as about 50 shops, with an employment size of about 500 Egyptian workers.
