Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
In statements to "Europe and the Arabs" on the sidelines of the Belgian-Egyptian Business Forum in Brussels today, Monday, Dr. Badr Abdel Atti, Egypt's ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg, said that the businessmen forum hosted by the Arab-Belgian Chamber of Commerce in Brussels came at a very important time because the Egyptian economy is open. It also comes the day after the launch of the economic conference hosted by Egypt, which witnessed talk about the private sector and foreign investments in Egypt, and thus this forum in Brussels, which brings together businessmen from Egypt and Belgium, sends a clear and important message that Egypt is completely open to investment and has a favorable environment for investment and support Very large and empowering the private sector, whether for the Belgian, the Egyptian or the foreigner in general, and indeed there are huge opportunities in Egypt
The ambassador added that he felt during the deliberations that took place in the forum the existence of a common desire from businessmen from both sides, and Belgian companies presented during the forum presentations of the work they are doing in Egypt and their successful experiences, thus sending a positive message to the rest of the business community in Belgium and that there is a political will in Egypt from the president and the government There is also an environment for investment, and this is why work quickly to double Belgian investments in Egypt and increase the volume of trade exchange
The ambassador alluded to the figures reported by the speakers at the forum, which actually indicated an increase in the volume of trade exchange and a significant boom during the first six months of this year in trade exchanges between Egypt and Belgium.
Ambassador Abdel-Aty also referred to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to Belgium last February, which he described as very important, especially that the president met with heads of Belgian companies, whether working or interested in working in Egypt, which sent very positive signs to the Belgian business community, as well as a trade delegation visited Egypt recently. Belgium The delegation included representatives of 22 Belgian companies and met with a number of ministers, including the Minister of Transport and Energy, as well as businessmen in Cairo and Alexandria. Past .
For his part, Caesar Hegazin, President of the Arab-Belgian Chamber of Commerce in Brussels said that the visit of the Egyptian delegation from the Businessmen Association is the tenth visit of its kind and the Chamber is honored to host an event of such a level, and we know that the Egyptian economy is open and everyone knows the assets that Egypt possesses not only in terms of geographical location But the qualified manpower and economic growth in the country as well as the investment environment, which has become more likely to attract foreign investment
On the sidelines of the forum, Nagy Younes, a member of the Egyptian trade delegation that participated in the forum, said, "We participated in this forum with the aim of revitalizing trade between the two countries, especially since a number of participants in the delegation are importers of raw materials from Belgium, and we used to visit it every year for years, and we have been dealing with Belgian companies to get On raw materials needed for our factories, which are Yunus Stainless Steel factories, which are located in El-Obour and the Suez Bridge. This forum helped us to identify new businessmen from Belgium and new companies and to consolidate the relationship between businessmen from both sides.
For his part, the Belgian businessman Stein Weffels, who is the technical director of "Waterleo" company, said in his statements to "Europe and the Arabs" that the forum constituted an important opportunity for us to meet businessmen from Egypt and introduce everyone to investment opportunities and trade exchange between the two countries, especially investment in the field of energy of various types as well as contracting. This is important to us, as the company I represent is active in the field of contracting, including infrastructure and drinking water purification.
The Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Embassy of Egypt in Brussels, hosted a delegation from the Egyptian-Belgian Business Association (EBBA) to participate in the "Multi-Sectoral Business Forum in Egypt and Belgium", which was followed by the matchmaking event between companies. Badr Abdel-Aty and Brussels Parliament Speaker Rachid Madran, and the interventions came under the title of understanding the Egyptian market and discovering unique opportunities for growth and business diversification.