President El-Sisi’s Speech at BRICS Business Forum

alhadath – cairo

‘In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful’

Your Excellency President Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation;

Your Majesties and Excellencies, Heads of State and Government of the BRICS countries;

Ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the business sector;

Distinguished attendees;

Allow me at the outset to express my deep appreciation to His Excellency President Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, for the ongoing efforts during the Russian presidency of the bloc this year and the tireless efforts made to further advance cooperation among BRICS countries at all levels. The meetings hosted in various ancient Russian cities have contributed to deepening the ties and cooperation frameworks among our countries.

In the same context, we value the holding of the BRICS Business Forum, which demonstrates the commitment to enhancing relations among the member countries, and therefore contributes to enhancing investments, inter-trade, and joint projects, which will undoubtedly strengthen our efforts to fulfil the aspirations of our peoples and achieve the desired economic growth.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This forum is being held at a time when the world is witnessing successive and unprecedented international challenges and crises that require concerted efforts to find effective solutions. This is in addition to intensifying work to advance the path of sustainable development. This is a shared responsibility, in the first place, where the private sector and business councils undertake a key role as indispensable partners.

Therefore, this forum represents an important platform that allows for exploring various investment and trade opportunities among the member countries, as well as enhancing cooperation between the private sector institutions by leveraging each country’s competitive advantages to launch joint projects.

This shall contribute to enriching economic integration among the member countries and enhance the role of BRICS as a prominent economic bloc in boosting global economic growth, especially considering the enormous economic and investment potential our countries hold, particularly in the fields of renewable energy, digital transformation, and manufacturing industries, which have become key pillars for achieving development.

Distinguished Attendees,

Egypt is taking confident steps on the path of economic reform and comprehensive development, striving for a more sustainable economy and the ability to withstand crises. In this context, the government recently adopted a set of ambitious steps and measures to improve the investment climate and enhance the role of the private sector in leading economic development,

as well as overcoming the obstacles that investors face.

Among the main reforms are imposing a cap on government investments so as to provide more opportunities for the private sector and continuing the implementation of the government’s Initial Public Offering program within the framework of the State Ownership Policy Document. This is in addition to providing a package of customs exemptions and tax incentives to streamline bureaucratic procedures.

Egypt also continues its efforts to develop the sectors of Communications and Information Technology, manufacturing industries, and new and renewable energy, especially green hydrogen, in addition to continuing to implement mega infrastructure projects and developing the

transportation, communications and ports system in various parts of the country, in line with our ambitious plans and goals to maximize the benefit from Egypt’s unique and strategic geographical location.
Perhaps one of the most prominent ambitious Egyptian projects is the Suez Canal Economic Zone, which bears great investment opportunities, in terms of the diverse industrial base it provides and export advantages to all regions of the world, in light of Egypt’s membership in many agreements and regional free trade zones, making Egypt the best path to access promising markets, especially the African continent, which has become the continent of the future, in light of the economic and investment opportunities it possesses as well as the youth density reaching about 65% of its population.

Distinguished Attendees,

In conclusion, I would like to seize this opportunity to

express our sincere hopes for this forum to yield tangible results that contribute to enhancing investments and economic cooperation among our countries, while according utmost importance to investing in the human capital, being the basic component and condition for achieving development and renaissance in our country.

Thank you very much.

May God’s peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.