Egypt’s Tourism Minister, Ahmed Issa, addressed the audience of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt in January’s luncheon under the theme of revisiting Egypt’s tourism strategy in a turbulent and ever-challenging economic environment. Issa began his speech by touching on the few positive markers, saying Egypt’s tourism is on the right path despite various key headwinds. Issa committed to a highly ambitious target of an increase of 25-30% per annum in tour operators and tourist visits, which he qualified would be attained over a timeframe of the coming five years. By 2028, Egypt hopes to see the heralded goal…
Author: Adam Sakaria
Egypt plans to reach 10.5 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day by 2050 at an implementation cost of around $10 billion, Ahmed Kamal Moawad, vice chairman of the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW) told an audience of AmCham members from the Industry & Trade Committee in early December. Locations proposed for the desalination initiative span mainly along the Mediterranean coastline, the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. Moawad noted that looking for unconventional sources of water such as desalination is key for Egypt to secure its water supply. Wastewater treatment “Unfortunately, Egypt only treats about 14.1…
Egypt is currently engaged in the lengthy process of reorienting state apparatuses towards ‘greening’ the national economy in a diverse and comprehensive strategy in the wake of the COP27 summit, which was hosted in Sharm El Sheikh last month. In light of the many tangible improvements in gearing the Egyptian economy towards being more environmentally conscious, as well as concerted efforts to implement such changes on a societal level through various state-sponsored initiatives, proponents are touting recent investments in renewable energy as a further indication of this ‘green dream’ gradually becoming a reality. On November 30, the International Finance Corporation…
Around 200 countries are gathering for the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh to discuss whether rich and developed nations should pay compensation to other developing countries suffering the adverse impact of climate change. As per a tweet by the UN summit on Sunday, the loss and damage funding has been officially included as an item in the COP agenda. The delegates of the conference agreed to reach a conclusive decision on loss and damage by 2024, according to a Bloomberg report. The agenda item, making its appearance at a COP conference for the first time,…
This summer, the superyacht Aviva, one of the most expensive in the world, docked at the Hurghada seaport, reaching Red Sea waters after its departure from Thailand. The arrival of the vessel, belonging to Tottenham Hotspur FC owner and businessman, Joe Lewis, underscored the burgeoning attractiveness and potential of Egypt’s seaside communities, ports and harbors as destinations in the worldwide circuit of luxury sailing yachts. The hosting of Aviva was well received by the guests and crew of the ship, with the captain lavishing praise on the reception and treatment of the Egyptian authorities, and the timely completion of docking…
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2022 (COP27) is slated for November 6-18 this year in the Red Sea resort community of Sharm El Sheikh, and all hands are on deck across the nation as Egypt gears up for this key event. COP27 aims to establish legally binding commitments for developed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For the Egyptian hosting delegation, the focus will be on watershed issues facing the African continent, in particular, and in developing countries in general, such as water security, agricultural reform, and green financing. “Egypt looks forward to building on the outputs…
Egypt posted its highest growth rate of 6.6% in 14 years, with $11.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) for Fiscal Year 2021/22, and a relatively stable unemployment rate of 7.2%, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El Said, said during an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt on September 25. The panel titled, Egypt’s Economic Development Efforts Amidst Global Uncertainties: Partnerships with the Private Sector,” discussed Egypt’s economic outlook as the world reels from the negative repercussions of pressuring economic factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, limitations…
Egypt’s government introduced a slate of new regulations on June 21 for the construction and sale of housing units by real estate developers with an aim to regulate the market and safeguard the rights of consumers. The new regulations set how and when developers can start marketing units and how much of their own capital they must put up for a project. Furthermore, they require developers to submit semi-annual reports on their projects and activities, create separate bank accounts for each of their projects, and be subject to financial auditing. A new phase? Cairenes have grown accustomed over the past…
Egypt has been making steady and notable progress in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years, despite the pandemic-driven global economic downturn. The Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021, prepared by tech news portal Disrupt Africa, says that Egypt has the “fourth largest startup ecosystem on the continent, behind only South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya,” and surpasses the top three in critical areas like entrepreneurial innovation and investment. Over the last five years, Egypt has attracted startup investments big enough to deliver unicorns. This, coupled with burgeoning inflows of FDI in other key sectors including construction and real estate, healthcare,…
With combating climate change high on the international agenda, nuclear power has risen to the fore as a potential sustainable energy source. However, safety remains a major sticking point, with the 2011 Fukushima Reactor accident in Japan still fresh in many minds. The key question here is whether nuclear power’s benefits outweigh the risks. Detractors cite its exorbitant cost, damage caused by accidents, and most significantly radioactive waste that remains toxic for millenia. Proponents, whose swelling ranks are now increasingly joined by climate scientists and environmental experts, argue that without nuclear energy, climate goals will remain a lost cause. They…