In the Egyptian Family Iftar event that was held on Tuesday, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi announced that the government is paying more attention to the country's industry by launching an initiative to support and localise national industries to rely on local products. This will be done by strengthening the role of the private sector in expanding the industrial base of large- and medium-sized industries. Localising national industries and deepening local components in products is an initiative that all manufacturers have been calling for over the past 15 years because it is the future of industry in Egypt, as industry is not based on assembly of spare parts only. Without the presence of raw components, the industrial cycle is incomplete, and most industries in Egypt use raw materials imported from abroad, Sherif Al-Sayyad — Chairperson of the Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EEC) — told Daily News Egypt. Consequently, industry in Egypt lacks integration in order to achieve growth and become a strong competitor in exports and reduce imports, El-Sayyad added. He further noted that promoting strategic local industrialisation is an initiative launched by the EEC, especially raw materials and products that are included in new industrial products, and that the EEC has been encouraging some local investors to provide them or for foreign investors to open a factory and produce them in Egypt. Similarly, Amr Abu Farikha — a member of EEC — said that the presidential initiative is a positive step as a whole, and allows the government to support, motivate, and direct the industrial system from a holistic perspective. Abu Farikha added that "there is a will to take care of the industry, and it is clear that 2022 will be the year of industry, thus manufacturers need to be stimulated by providing them with facilities and easing their businesses as well as solving their problems, which in turn will provide job opportunities for citizens for tens of years." Amr Emam — Deputy of Industry Committee at Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB) —agreed with Abu Farikha that the initiative is useful, especially at the present time, in supporting the economy and local industries, adding that all measures must be facilitated to assist the expansion of manufacturing and the localisation of imported products by transferring them to local industries. For his part, Marwan M. Al-Sammak — Chairperson and CEO of Ship and CREW Egypt and Vice President of the Alexandria Chamber of Shipping — stated: "It is a strong initiative, which is a benign trend in the coming period, especially since industry employs the largest segment of the population." Al-Sammak added that promoting and strengthening industry leads to the employment of a large segment of citizens and leads to social peace and improvement of economic conditions. He elaborated that industry must be localised in order to target exports and not just reduce imports, and this localisation must be undertaken by the business community, anticipating that the initiative could increase Egypt's exports to $500bn, which would put the country in the top 20 largest exporting countries in the world. Accordingly, localising national industries and relying on local products is important, but the industrial system also needs to improve the business climate in Egypt, increase industrial efficiency, and improve the competitiveness of local products in the global market. Meanwhile, Mohamed Hanno — Vice Chairperson of the Alexandria Business Association — disclosed that the importance of the initiative lies in that it will help increase production, which are tried and proven ways of developing and controlling inflation, as well as solving the problem of unemployment. Nevertheless, there are some problems hindering the localisation and boosting industry — namely the lack of industrial lands linked to services and utilities and qualified to set up industrial projects, as well as the state's support for connecting lands with services, in addition to industrial licenses. He explained that obtaining industrial licenses requires a lot of procedures and the process is very slow, in addition to the complicated requirements and extensive documentation. The localisation of industry needs an integrated system, not only by relying on investors, but also by supporting production chains as well as supporting scientific research and encouraging foreign investors to invest and open factories in the country according to need for their inputs and raw materials, which are used as intermediate industries for products to be manufactured, Hanno concluded. Tarek Shoukry — Head of the Real Estate Development Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries — confirmed that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's statements during the Egyptian Family's Iftar event prove that that the Egyptian state is the biggest supporter of the private sector in the current period. Furthermore, he pointed out that real estate sector represents a large part of the private sector in Egypt and contributes more than 20% to the GDP and provides more than 5m direct job opportunities, which reflects the size of this sector and its impact on the economy.
