Egypt's Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, discussed with the government represented in the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, the Minister of Finance, Mohamed Moeit, and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Amr Nassar, the ways to stimulate foreign direct investments (FDI) in Egypt. They also discussed during the meeting that was held on Monday, the means to facilitate and simplify the procedures for investors to pump investments in all sectors. FDI into Egypt fell to $6.8bn in 2018, down from $7.4bn the previous year, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 2019 World Investment Report. Meanwhile, the Director of UNCTAD's Investment Division, James Zhan, said earlier in July that Egypt maintained its position in 2018 as the largest recipient of FDI in Africa, with total investments worth $7.9bn, accounting for 7% of foreign investments in Africa. At the beginning of the meeting, the prime minister stressed that the government is working to attract more FDI through implementing a number of measures and incentive mechanisms. Earlier, the IFF stated in a report this month that Egypt's FDI is still strong, noting that much of it is concentrated in the energy sector. He noted that facilitating all procedures for foreign investors, striving to resolve all the problems facing them as soon as possible, and overcoming all obstacles come at the forefront of the government's measures. The prime minister asserted that the clarity of economic measures will give to the world confident messages in the investment climate in Egypt. Madbouly asked for a set of simplified measures and procedures that would encourage foreign investors to invest in all sectors of the Egyptian economy. In the same context, the prime minister stressed the need to expedite the disbursement of financial dues to stimulate exports. A few days ago, the minister of finance announced that EGP 6bn, has been allocated in the budget of fiscal year 2019/20 to stimulate exports through a new programme to limit exports challenges.
