CAIRO, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) — Egypt is keen to facilitate measures and remove obstacles facing investors in order to attract investments into the country, Egyptian Trade Minister Tarek Qabil said on Sunday.
According to Egypt’s official news agency, the Middle East News Agency, or MENA, the minister commented while meeting with a delegation from Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries company.
The delegation asserted the company’s eagerness to establish numerous development projects in Egypt, as it is considered one of the most important markets in the Middle East and Africa, reported MENA.
Egypt is struggling to overcome a sharp economic recession in the past five years of political turmoil and related security issues, leading to a decrease in tourism, exports, foreign currency reserves and foreign investments.
Many foreign investors complained of Egyptian bureaucracy which delays business as it becomes time-consuming to get official permits and the specified lands for their projects, in addition to the current dollar shortage crippling importers.
Egypt recently reached an initial agreement with the International Monetary Fund to receive a 12 billion U.S. dollars loan to reduce its budget deficit and carry out a three-year exacting economic reform program including subsidy cuts and additional taxation.
