USD 1.2 billion value of Swiss investments in Egypt Mr. Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, received Ms. Helene Budliger Artieda, Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs, in her first visit to Egypt to discuss Egyptian-Swiss economic relations, in the presence of Dr. Yvonne Baumann, Swiss Ambassador to Egypt. Ms. Helene Budliger Artida proposed establishing a joint economic committee between Egypt and Switzerland, as Switzerland establishes joint economic committees with its most important strategic partners, emphasizing the aspiration of the Swiss business community to invest and expand in the Egyptian market. The value of Swiss investments in Egypt amounts to about USD 1.2 billion, contributing to the growth of the Egyptian economy, providing about 25,000 job opportunities, and distributed among major companies in the pharmaceutical, food, building materials, chemicals, and energy sectors. The Swiss State Secretary pointed out that there are promising areas of cooperation between the two countries, foremost being the establishment of environmental industrial parks, green hydrogen, and transportation and logistics, as Switzerland is considered one of the pioneering countries in the technical development of these sectors. Meanwhile, GAFI's CEO affirmed that the meeting was an important step to improve economic relations between the two countries, and that there is great scope to deepen cooperation between them, increase the volume of Swiss investments, and transfer Swiss expertise and technology to Egypt, particularly in the transportation sector, as the Egyptian government aims to localize the transportation industry to keep up with the investment boom witnessed in this sector. Mr. Hossam Haiba introduced the Swiss side to GAFI's role in promoting investment, establishing companies, managing free zones, solving investors' problems, and the various investment schemes between free and investment zones and technology zones. He further presented the opportunities available on Egypt's investment map, the government's most important efforts in improving the investment climate and supporting the private sector, as well as the economic reform measures in Egypt during the past years, most recently the issuance of the state ownership document, the golden license, and the electronic incorporation system.
