The Chief Executive Officer of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI CEO), Mr. Hossam Heiba, participated in the 28th session of the World Investment Conference (WIC) held in Riyadh from November 25th to 27th. The event was organized in partnership with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and attended by investment ministers, representatives of investment promotion agencies (IPAs), and international organizations focused on promoting and enhancing investments.
On the sidelines of the conference, Heiba participated in a meeting with Eng. Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Minister of Investment, in the presence of Eng. Hassan Al-Khatib, Egypt's Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade. The discussions centered on enhancing investment cooperation between the two countries through joint projects and new initiatives across various productive and service sectors. The meeting also assessed the positive impact of the Egyptian-Saudi Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, highlighting its role in boosting Saudi investments in the Egyptian market. Furthermore, GAFI CEO met with H.E. Ibrahim bin Youssef Al-Mubarak, Saudi Deputy Minister of Investment and CEO of the Saudi Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA), to review avenues for bilateral cooperation.
Heiba also held several meetings with Saudi investors to discuss challenges they face in the Egyptian market. He outlined the efforts undertaken by GAFI to streamline procedures, most notably the establishment of the “KSA Unit" at GAFI. This unit facilitates direct communication with Saudi investors operating in Egypt, offering support, resolving issues, and liaising with potential Saudi investors. During these meetings, GAFI CEO also presented detailed investment opportunities in Egypt and provided a comprehensive explanation of the various investment frameworks available.
Further, Heiba emphasized GAFI's ongoing coordination with the relevant authorities in Egypt to simplify procedures, improve the business environment, and facilitate communication between investors and government agencies, as these efforts aim to attract more investments and support sustainable economic growth.
Moreover, GAFI CEO actively participated in multiple discussion sessions throughout WIC. During a session, entitled “Enhancing Regional Value Chains Through Cooperation Between Investment Promotion Agencies", Heiba underscored Egypt's critical role in regional and international cooperation to strengthen value chains. He highlighted Egypt's commitment to becoming an investment gateway for Africa by fostering regional and global investment partnerships. In addition, Heiba elaborated on the Egyptian government's strategic plans to expand the establishment of productive hubs, such as industrial cities and free zones, aimed at boosting investments and enhancing their contribution to GDP. These plans prioritize key sectors including the automotive industry, pharmaceutical manufacturing, renewable energy, and information technology. He also highlighted Egypt's ambitious goal of increasing private sector investments to 48% of total investments by the fiscal year 2024/2025.
In another session entitled “Special Economic Zones and Industrial Clusters: Foreign Investment Growth Engines", GAFI CEO showcased Egypt's diverse investment frameworks, including private and public free, investment and technological zones, as well as economic zones of special nature such as the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). He emphasized Egypt's focus on developing and supporting these industrial clusters by offering special investment incentives.
On a related note, representatives from various IPAs expressed keen interest in leveraging Egypt's expertise in establishing and managing free zones, with particular interest shown by countries such as Madagascar, Malawi, and Kosovo.
In a session organized by the World Economic Forum, Mr. Hossam Heiba announced the launch of a dedicated unit to support entrepreneurship and startups, operating under the umbrella of the Egyptian Cabinet. Hosted and managed by GAFI, this unit collaborates with relevant ministries to modernize policies and align them with the evolving needs of startups.
Heiba further highlighted Egypt's commitment to attracting foreign direct and sustainable investments that deliver long-term positive impacts, with a particular focus on empowering women and youth in diverse economic sectors. He also underscored how Egypt's ongoing digital transformation efforts are driving economic and social inclusion across all segments of society.
Extended Meetings with International Organizations to Bolster Investment and Economic Cooperation
On the sidelines of the 28th Annual World Investment Conference (WIC), Mr. Hossam Heiba actively engaged in meetings of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), where GAFI proudly serves as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in WAIPA's Steering Committee. The meetings brought together representatives of WAIPA's member investment promotion agencies (IPAs), fostering in-depth discussions on strengthening collaboration among the agencies and sharing expertise to deliver maximum value and opportunities for investors.
Mr. Hossam Heiba held a series of meetings with international organizations participating in WIC, including the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. The discussions focused on exploring ways the bank could support the efforts to raise awareness among Egyptian exporters—especially small and medium-sized enterprises—about sustainable export mechanisms to various markets and the possibility of contributing to the development of a sector-based database and informational resources on investment and export.
Moreover, Mr. Hossam Heiba held a pivotal meeting with representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), emphasizing the critical importance of implementing sustainability measures to transform free zones into green zones. He highlighted the necessity of providing incentives to support the shift towards clean energy and proposed a partnership to develop systems for monitoring performance, evaluating sustainability, and identifying key needs for developing these zones. He stressed the importance of aligning policies with global market demands.
He further highlighted GAFI's strategic focus on fostering stronger connections between multinational corporations and local investors. He outlined plans to develop special economic zones to be hubs for sustainable industries and cutting-edge technologies, positioning them as catalysts for inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
A productive meeting was held with representatives from FDI Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times. During the meeting, investment promotion services of FDI Intelligence were highlighted, focusing on enhancing the IPAs role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) more effectively across all stages of the investment lifecycle. This includes strategic planning, policy formulation, and post-investment support.
During the meeting, Mr. Hossam Heiba underscored the importance of establishing channels for collaboration with FDI Intelligence. He emphasized that this partnership should go beyond GAFI, extending to IPAs across African countries.
In addition, Mr. Heiba held a number of meetings with IPAs representatives attending the conference to strengthen mutual cooperation. The meetings included IPAs from India, France, Cyprus, Madagascar, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Algeria, and Kuwait.
