Bombings of churches have no serious effect on investments in Egypt: ILO director

There will be a slight impact on investments in the coming period, says FEI deputy

The recent bombs may temporarily delay some investments, but there is no serious effect on investment, said Peter Van Rooij, the director of ILO-Decent Work Team for North Africa /Cairo.
Rooij told Daily News Egypt that investors have to wait and see how events will unfold, because the state of emergency is for a limited period of only three months; however, investors are generally interested in medium and long-term perspectives, so a temporary state of emergency in place will not affect their medium and long-term plans.
Rooij denied that the recent events might affect Egypt's rating, noting that the rating does not depend on such events, but rather on fundamentals that cannot be changed by a temporary event.
Tarek Tawfik, deputy chairperson of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), said that terrorism is found in all countries of the world, as there were successive events of terrorism in Stockholm, London, and other European cities, all of which are famous for their safety.
"There is no country in the world that is immune from terrorism, and the recent church bombings in Egypt are a general phenomenon. The imposition of a state of emergency is normal. It will have a slight impact on investments in the coming period, but it is imperative," said Tawfik.
Tawfik noted that Egypt is now a stable sovereign country with a parliament and a constitution, and it has all the elements necessary for investment.
He added that Egypt has taken very important measures to amend some economic legislation, and there have also been new oil discoveries, which should improve the situation.
On Sunday, two terrorist attacks targeted two churches in Alexandria and Tanta, killing at least 40 and injuring more than100.
Late on Monday, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced a state of emergency for three months.