Discuss investment partnership opportunities in renewable energy
Mr. Hossam Heiba, GAFI CEO, and Mr. Mikheil Khidureli, CEO of Enterprise Georgia, signed MoU to enhance investment cooperation between the two countries, in the presence of Mr. Levan Davitashvili, Vice Prime Minister of Georgia and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, and Mr. Alexander Khovtishvili, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, and Mr. Samson Samson Pkhakadze, President of Business Association of Georgia.
On the Egyptian side, Mr. Ibrahim Mostafa, Vice Chairman of the General Authority of Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), Dr. Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Minister Plenipotentiary (Commercial), and Head Of Sector, Multilateral Cooperation (IFIs, UN, Other International Organizations) at Ministry of International Cooperation attended.
Enterprise Georgia is the body responsible for promoting Georgian investment and exports.
The signing came on the sidelines of the Egyptian-Georgian Business Forum, which was hosted by GAFI.
Mr. Hossam Heiba said that the business forum represents a platform to launch a new phase of investment cooperation, benefiting from the comparative advantages and economic diversification of the two countries.
He pointed out that the trade and investment agreements that link the Egyptian economy and the Georgian economy with more than 1.3 billion consumers and more than 2.3 billion consumers respectively, ensure the promotion of the investment partnership between the two countries.
GAFI CEO presented the tax incentives offered by the Egyptian government, and investment opportunities in the sectors of industry, logistics and the green economy, especially since Georgia has great experience in renewable energy production and waste recycling.
Georgia produces more than three quarters of its energy from renewable sources, which contributed to the low cost of energy used in industry. Growth rates have exceeded 10% over the past two years, and it is expected to record the highest economic growth rate in Europe and the Balkans over the next five years.
Mr. Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, said that the MoU will interpret the political rapprochement between the two countries into strong economic relations, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war have created the need for other tracks of economic cooperation, noting that the Georgian government sees Egypt as its gateway to the African economy in trade and investment.
Dr. Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Head of Sector, Multilateral Cooperation (IFIs, UN, Other International Organizations) at Ministry of International Cooperation, said that financing green economy projects is ranked among the top priorities of the Ministry, as it was able to obtain billions of dollars during the past years, to finance the needs of the private sector to establish renewable energy projects, and this is in implementation of the National Climate Change Strategy "Egypt 2050", which creates huge opportunities of investment cooperation between the two countries in this sector with international funding.
Mr. Ibrahim Mostafa, Vice Chairman of the General Authority of Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), gave a presentation on investment opportunities in SCZONE, and confirmed that the its infrastructure is fully equipped to establish renewable energy projects, green economy and export products through the Zone's ports to all countries of the world.
