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Committee Highlight AmCham Egypt’s 19 specialized, sector-oriented committees discuss new developments and address problems in their various fields of interest. Banking, Finance & Insurance Committee In February, Luc Metivier, head of bancassurance at Allianz Group Egypt, discussed the progress made towards establishing viable local “bancassurance” procedures so bank branches can offer both banking and insurance products through a single provider. He focused on the benefits of bancassurance for the financial sector including increased income, reduced fixed costs and an expanded range of banking services. The quality of marketing, sales, customer loyalty and staff productivity is also enhanced. In April, Ashraf Shams El Din, a capital markets consultant, discussed the liberalization of financial services and Egypt’s commitment under GATT. He pointed out that GATT opens the markets of all signatories. Egypt signed on in 1994 and submitted its schedule of commitment for specific sectors. Donald G. Ogilvie, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA), a non-profit trade association representing commercial banks, savings institutions and other financial institutions in the United States, spoke in June of acquisition and mergers in the U.S. Ogilvie noted that 19 years ago, there were more than 18,000 commercial banks and financial institutions in the U.S., while today, there are fewer than 10,000. He attributed the decline in numbers to mergers, which were prompted by the need for greater efficiency, leveraging technology and spreading the cost over a large number of customers. Mergers are necessary to allow banks to introduce and maintain the technology customers increasingly demand. A change in the legislative environment enabled banks to merge. He also explained that risk diversification was another benefit of merging. In December, Nicholas Krasno, managing director of New York-based Krasno Financial Advisory, discussed what new financial regulations mean for borrowers, pointing out that the regulator’s focus is on prudential management of risk and working with market forces with an emphasis on disclosure and transparency. The AmCham Courier Services Committee is a newly formed committee to establish a permanent channel of communication for members concerned with express shipping and logistics for imports to and exports from Egypt. The goal is to resolve, reduce and eliminate any regulatory issues and problems affecting the interest of the service providers and member companies. During 2004, the committee worked on solidifying its relationship with the National Post Organization and managed to amend its contractual agreements to streamline the process, making it more efficient and less time consuming. The committee only met as a core group this year and plans to expand its activities during 2005-06. In February, the chairman of the Taxation Authority, Hosny Gad, outlined proposed amendments to the national tax law, which would lower the corporate tax rate to 30 percent from the current basic rate of 40 percent. The draft also aims at stamping out tax evasion by increasing penalties on individuals and companies that file late or inaccurate returns. It will also lower individual income taxes, while increasing tax exemptions, such as family allowances. Since taxes and customs go hand-in-hand in the minds of most businessmen, another discussion featuring Mahfouz El Aragawy, chairman of the Customs Authority, was held in April to discuss the reforms of the Customs Authority. He explained that the authority would begin communication with importers via e-mail and fax. At the same time, the process of releasing shipments is being streamlined with the aim of enabling expediters to complete all the necessary paperwork in a period that does not exceed 20 minutes. To visualize the day-to-day workings of ports in Egypt, the committee organized a trip to the port of Damietta in June. This was an opportunity to showcase the upgrading process the port had gone through, which cost around £E 140 million. Visitors viewed the Electronic Management Unit, which is now controlled by the latest biometric identification equipment. They also viewed the electronic tracking system that facilitates coordination of operations, whether the movement of ships in and out of the facilities or the unloading and routing of containers and goods as well as documents for customs. In October, El Aragawy discussed the latest customs tariff reductions. He said the authority would gradually mechanize the process of releasing goods through customs using the same system adopted by the Model Customs & Taxation Center (MCTC) in Cairo. Since tourism remains one of Egypt’s largest revenue generators, the Environment Committee held a meeting in February to discuss support for sustainable tourism with guest speaker Richard Edwards, chief of the USAID Environment Program in Egypt. He explained the ways the country’s tourist industry could protect the local environment as the industry develops. Edwards introduced USAID’s latest four-year, $16 million environmental initiative, LIFE (Livelihood and Income from the Environment) program, which focuses on promoting sustainable economic growth in the Red Sea governorate by encouraging investment in several areas of sustainable tourism, including low-density ecologies, new eco-tours, the enhancement of living conditions for indigenous people, improved eco-tourism infrastructure and better conservation practices. But protecting the environment has to start from the bottom up. That was the focus of guest speakers Cheryl Groff, chief of party for the Academy for Environmental Development (AED), and Hassan Abou Bakr, the academy’s deputy chief of party, who discussed corporate and educational environmental awareness in March. They pointed out that NGOs could help grow grassroots efforts by individuals, families and communities to protect the environment. Kirk Ellis, chief of party for USAID’s Solid Waste Management Project; Hossam Heiba, vice-president of oil and gas at Egypt Kuwait Holding Co., and Emad Hassan, senior regional manager at Nexant, Inc. discussed the profitability opportunities that lie in environmental investments. This notion was further asserted by Tarek Abdel Hamid, deputy chief executive officer of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA). He spoke about business opportunities in environment and discussion focused on sources of finance for such projects as well as opportunities for growth and investment in various sectors. In October, Mohamed El-Alfy, CEO of the Holding Company for Water & Wastewater, discussed Egypt’s new strategy for managing drinking water and wastewater. According to El-Alfy, the new strategy is to provide clean water at a reasonable cost while achieving technical efficiency through a government-established regulatory agency, while simultaneously promoting private sector participation. Health & Pharmaceuticals Committee The core committee on Health and Pharmaceuticals met several times during 2004 with the minister of health regarding intellectual property rights issues and the pricing of medication. The committee is fully aware of the social responsibility that goes with being involved in this sector. The committee submitted several position papers about the competitiveness of the Egyptian pharmaceutical industry as well as encouraging foreign direct investment and the facilitation of exports to the region and the world Since leading teams is one of the keys to successful human resource development, the Human Resources Committee in January featured Myriam Khalifa, executive director of the USAID Management Development Initiative’s Organizational Learning and Leadership Development arm, to discuss team development. She focused on the Tuckman model for team development, which includes “forming, storming, norming and performing.” With transformation of the public sector a priority during 2004, in March, guest speaker Ahmed El Baradai, chairman of Banque du Caire and chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, gave a presentation on the transformation of public sector banking. He pointed out that weak management systems form a major problem for banks. El Baradai suggested the privatization of management as part of the solution. Another technique suggested in April by Hany Mahmoud, president of the Egyptian Human Resources Management Association (EHRMA) and HR director at Vodafone Egypt, in April, was the adoption of the balanced score card, a method for determining and assessing an organization’s effectiveness. In May, a presentation offered a new look at human resource management, featuring guest speaker Magda Abdel Fattah, associate director of the human resources department at the American University in Cairo (AUC), who spoke of changes in the field. She pointed out that activities for planning, recruiting, retaining and developing staff must all be carried out with an eye to fostering an effective organizational culture. Since offering benefits can be a way for companies to retain staff, the Human Resources Committee and the Egyptian Human Resource Management Association (EHRMA) held a health-care fair featuring Gamal El Khatib, management and sustainability specialist for the TAHSEEN Catalyst Project (a health-care initiative funded by USAID) also in May. The objective was to introduce public companies offering medical services in Egypt and to make available information on the particular services offered and the rates charged for them. In June, Hisham El Bakry, managing director of Egyptian Leadership Training & Consultancy, gave a talk on the role of psychometrics in the selection of employees. He explained that psychometric tests offer a standard way of assessing particular aspects of human behavior in order to measure typical performance and optimum performance. These tests can help companies hire the right person for the right job. Since it’s important to retain the right staff once they are hired, in June, Van Wood, professor of international marketing, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), discussed EMBA programs as a form of corporate investment in staff development and value-added proposition. He said continuing education in today’s globally competitive marketplace is essential and must be set within the context of a thorough understanding of globalization. In October, a workshop was held to discuss people management skills with Nadia Haridi, managing partner of HR First International, as the main speaker. She focused on techniques to optimize people management skills through objective behavioral assessment. In November, Amira Khattab, training and development manager of the Human Resources Department at the AUC, discussed celebrating diversity as a way of boosting people’s connections. She emphasized the impact of connecting versus non-connecting, and understanding different cultural perspectives. Maged Abaza, faculty member of the Department of Management at the AUC, presented the relationship between human resources, positioning and branding in December. He said that HR is about recruiting the proper staff, implementing training, compensation, motivation and evaluation methods to enable staff to analyze situations, set objectives, adopt strategies, operate and act according to strategies, and then realize their objective of generating profits and development within the company. Information & Communications Technology Committee In March, the role of the National Post Organization (NPO) in the new millennium was the focus of an ICT Committee discussion. NPO chairman Ali Moselhi pointed out that the NPO is working to improve its image and the quality of its services in order to become more internationally competitive. The NPO controls the largest mail distribution network in Egypt. Its weaknesses include limited automation, outdated management practices and organizational structure. He said that the NPO plans to implement a centralized system for tracking and to reduce mail delivery times. Keeping with the international competitiveness of the sector, the ICT Committee hosted a one-day workshop in May entitled “How to market Egyptian companies interested in exporting ICT products and services to U.S. firms.” The workshop was led by Lisa Martin and James L. LeBlanc, consultants for the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC). It addressed the components of marketing and business planning and strategies for presenting company profiles and the types of questions Egyptian companies should expect from U.S. firms and how to address them. Since deregulation is one of the keys to successfully marketing communication and information technology, Akil Beshir, chairman of Telecom Egypt (TE), and Alaa Fahmy, executive president of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), in June addressed plans to deregulate the telecom market by the end of 2005. Beshir gave an overview of TE’s aborted plans for an IPO in October 2000 as well as the company’s plans to issue a £E 2 billion bond in September or October. Fahmy outlined Egypt’s obligations under the WTO, including transparency and safeguarding competition. He explained that the nature of regulation depends on the nature of the market. In December, three advisers to the minister of communications and information technology – Ekram Fathy, Hoda Barakat and Khaled Ezz El-Din Ismail – gave a presentation about civil society development in light of MCIT’s plans. They focused on IT industry development, technology incubators, building capacity and human resources development as well as the blueprint of CIT research and development. In January, Said El Alfi, chairman of the People’s Assembly’s economics committee, discussed the major economy-related draft laws that the legislature is slated to debate. He discussed the anti-monopoly law as well as the anti-fraud law. El Alfi also alluded to changes to the customs regime, most notably an 80-percent reduction of tariffs on goods from member-countries of the Pan-Arab Free Trade Zone (PAFTA). At the same time, the Model Customs & Taxation Center, a new initiative by the government that allows organizations to fulfill their customs and taxation obligations by filing at a single location, was another major topic of discussion. In May, Ali Awni, partner at KPMG Hazem Hassan, gave a presentation on how effective supply chain management can enhance the competitiveness of manufacturing companies. He pointed out that at a time when globalization has hastened the pace of mergers, acquisitions and consolidations, as well as making customers more demanding, shortening product life and increasing the importance of cash flow, supply chain operations have become that much more vital as well as complex. This would entail finding more effective ways to purchase, manufacture, distribute, store and sell products, by integrating the processes performed by all players along the chain with the ultimate aim of having the right products in the right place at the right time in the right condition and at the right cost. International Donor Program Committee Guest speakers from the Social Fund for Development ( SFD) discussed the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in employing the unemployed in February. The speakers included the general manager for international relations and corporate communications, Hanaa El Hilaly, and the general manager of the Small Enterprise Development Organization (SEDO), Yehia El Agamy. They provided a brief overview of the SFD’s programs for boosting job opportunities, alleviating poverty and unemployment, and mitigating the adverse effects of the country’s economic reform program. They pointed out that the SFD’s vision is to be an agent for social development by helping to create sustainable job opportunities through the growth of private enterprise. Another model that Egypt has used to help in job creation and development is the public-private partnership model, which was discussed in June. This was the focus of a meeting attended by Allan Goodman, president and CEO of the Institute of International Education, and Jim Bloomfield, exploration manager, Shell Egypt. They pointed out that global trends are the reason why the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. Embracing CSR helps competitiveness even though it costs money in the short term. Over the long term, however, such policies give companies credibility and enhance their reputation in the eyes of the community. Investment & Capital Market Committee In September, Abdel Hamid Ibrahim, chairman of the Capital Market Authority discussed “Minority shareholders’ rights and capital market development.” He gave an overview of the rules governing the protection of minority shareholders’ rights and the significance of those rights to capital market development. Guest speaker Mona Zulficar, senior partner of Shalakany Law Office, enunciated some of the changes within the law governing the protection of shareholders’ rights. She said that following the elimination of restrictions on foreign ownership, modern and objective rules were introduced. She noted that although the ban on foreign firms exporting goods from Egypt had been lifted, the importation of goods by foreigners for the purposes of trading was still restricted. Samir Hamza, partner at Helmy, Hamza & Partners (Baker & McKenzie), also stressed the importance of educating shareholders about their rights, proposing designating a minority seat on the board and presenting a percentage of the distribution of profits to minority shareholders. In December, Ziad Bahaa El Din, chairman of the General Authority for Investment & Free Zones (GAFI), discussed the legal aspects of doing business in Egypt, focusing on the new role of the investment authority. He gave an overview of GAFI’s past functions, which led to conflicting regulatory roles and a lack of transparency. In order to facilitate investment and the start-up of new enterprises, GAFI’s mandate should include strengthening its role as a facilitator and increasing advocacy for an investment-friendly environment. In 2004, GAFI implemented new procedures to create a one-stop shop for investors by consolidating 25 bodies into a single representative entity. The changes were designed to reduce the technical review process for establishing an enterprise. The ratification of “in kind” asset valuation, which will streamline the process to an average of 15 days, has also been introduced. Supply and demand will now determine land rental prices in the free zones, Bahaa El Din announced. Also, a 50-percent reduction in rental fees was designed to lure tenants to the Damietta free zone, which had an occupancy rate of just 4 percent. In March, the Maritime Committee hosted guest speaker Philip Littlejohn, managing director of Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), who described the government’s plans to develop the East Port Said area. He focused on an international joint venture designated to build and operate a new container terminal at the north end of the Suez Canal with the aim of attracting global shipping lines. The terminal will be based around a 1,200-meter quay in the project’s first phase, to be extended to 2,400 meters incrementally. While the government will provide all marine infrastructure for the project, the SCCT will be fully independent, controlling pricing and operations. Loula Zaklama, president and managing director of RadaResearch & Public Relations, discussed the local public relations industry and its relationship with advertising in January. She argued that PR delivers more effectiveness, credibility and opportunity to get your message across. It’s also more cost effective. In February, guest speaker Bahaa Ali El Dean, assistant professor of commercial law at Menoufiya University, discussed the new competition law. He said the draft law would establish a “Competition Authority” affiliated with the Ministry of Supply & Domestic Trade to monitor any activities that might contravene the law. Also on the topic of marketing behavior, Amr Afifi, CEO of Promoters & Promo Sport, in March discussed the challenges companies face when planning events, presenting the checklists and budgets drawn up prior to each event. A discussion was held in April about image building and its role in selling companies and products. Azza El Bayyar, CEO of Bates Equity, was the guest speaker. She spoke of the importance of image-building campaigns to precede those for PR and marketing. Potential customers aren’t interested in companies without established reputations. In May, Mohamed Taher, key accounts manager at Tetra Pak Egypt, discussed the value of engaging in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. B2B marketing builds relationships to enable companies to focus the right resources on key customers, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction with the ultimate aim of increasing growth and profitability of one’s own company as well as of its counterpart. Making your advertising yield results was the focus of a presentation in June by Rajia Omar, general manager of advertising firm DDB-TNC, Heba Safwan, brand manager for Juhayna’s juice products, and Galal Zaki, CEO of Perception Communication. They explained that the success of re-branding is based on advertising campaigns that aim at fostering an image. Their presentation was followed by a day-long seminar with several sessions. During the first session, Omar and Safwan discussed “Better ideas, better results.” The second session’s speaker, Zaki, spoke of going back to the basics of advertising practices before breaking its rules. The third session, featuring Amgad Sabry, managing director of Leo Burnett, and Christine Ghobrial, account director at Leo Burnett, focused on the launch of new products, positioning the brand as leader and developing a new angle for marketing. In September, Ali Abdel Ghaffar, managing director of Kodak Egypt, presented a case study of Kodak going from ownership to franchise. He gave an overview of the history of the company in Egypt, as well as the management changes implemented since 2003 across the region as part of restructuring. He then discussed the plans to move towards a consolidated franchise structure. In December, Mohamed Rizk, adviser to the minister of tourism on marketing affairs, gave a presentation entitled “Ten million tourists annually: a dream or a vision?” He focused on the government’s plans to increase the number of tourists who visit Egypt. In June, Nick Trikouros, president of the New Jersey-based Panlyon Technologies, was hosted by the Petroleum Committee to discuss probabilistic risk analysis and other approaches to risk assessment in process industries. He said there needs to be balance between the concern for the environment and health and safety, and the need for economic viability of plant operations. The possibility of accidents is a major concern that is present in all sectors of industry owing to the severe consequences accidents can have for people, property and the environment. A concurrent development is that a corporation’s environmental and health and safety practices are now being recognized as an important component of the performance of the business. Integrating these practices with heightened security systems and well-established quality practices has become central to improving a company’s business operations and reducing the cost of operations. In December, guest speakers Tom Walter, chairman and fuels marketing director of ExxonMobil Egypt, Adel Hosni, vice chairman and managing director of Master Gas, and Ahmed El Dakroury, managing director of Fayum Gas, discussed the problems and solutions of the oil and gas sector. They discussed the history of the sector in Egypt, explaining that estimates indicate that the country will be a net importer within the next 4-6 years. They also discussed the prices of liquid fuel subsidies and gave a brief presentation about the emergence of CNG as an alternative to solid fuel. In January, Mamdouh Ragheb Abdel-Zaher, Supreme Court vice chairman and General Authority for Real Estate Finance board member, discussed the steps being taken to implement the Real Estate Finance Law (148/2001), better known as the mortgage law. Abdel-Zaher described the history of the law, and why it was issued. He also pointed out that the new law provides guarantees for payment and shortens payment default procedures to 90 days, instead of the two years required under the previous law. He stressed that owners interested in benefiting from the new law must have their properties registered and that the government reduced registration fees from 6 to 3 percent, to encourage the process. In June, Mahmoud Mohieldin, chairman of the National Democratic Party’s economic committee, Khaled Abou Ismail, chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, and Counselor Omar El Sherif, a legislator in the Ministry of Justice, were invited as panelists to discuss the “check law issue” and offer alternatives. They discussed the law and its implications, and offered a comparison with other countries’ laws. The panelists questioned its suitability for Egypt in today’s economic climate and spoke of the need for adjustments to the law to suit the current situation. They argued that the proposed law would stop the practice of using checks as a guarantee instrument for credit and the use of post-dated checks for settling payments by making the check payable on submission to the bank, regardless of the date of issue. Mohamed Sherif Sharaf, chairman of Export Development Bank in Egypt (EDBE), discussed the role of EDBE in promoting and developing Egyptian exports, and in providing assistance to Egyptian exporters in the field of agriculture, industry, trade and services in a meeting in March. He explained that medium-term lending provided by EDBE for project finance is funded by soft loans from the National Investment Bank and other donors. Farrukh Iqbal, lead economist for Egypt at the World Bank (WB), held a discussion in November on the “World Bank strategy for Egypt,” noting that it primarily emphasizes Egypt’s economic growth performance based on stabilization efforts. The economist stressed that Egypt’s slow rate of economic growth, poverty figures, budget deficit, public debt and low level of private sector investment are viewed by the World Bank as major challenges for the country. According to Iqbal, the implications of WB involvement include: strengthening policy dialogue, assessing the financial sector, selectivity in providing knowledge management, guidance in policy reform and mobilization of financing packages for priority projects. In December, chairman of the Arab Council for Economic Unity (ACEU) Ahmed Goweily discussed obstacles facing the implementation of the Pan-Arab Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA). He stated that the ACEU aims to achieve complete economic unity among the member states. He explained that the opportunity for investment and free trade in the region was growing and an increasing number of multinational companies were grasping it. El-Amir Abdel Moneim, chairman of the Egyptian Company for Railway Projects & Transport, held a presentation in April outlining the role of the company in developing Egypt’s transport sector. A major focus of its work is the national strategy for developing rail stations, including those in Tanta, Aswan and Assiut. Additional office space, recreation centers and shopping areas are being considered to augment the stations. On the air travel front, Michel Bellier, a transport specialist at the World Bank, gave a speech entitled “Trends and challenges in the airport sector.” He pointed out that air transport was rebounding after dropping significantly due to the effects of war and political instability in the region. The speaker addressed the post-9/11 security challenges in the aviation industry that have prompted governments to implement a number of new security measures. He also focused on the evolving role of airports, particularly the current trends towards privatization. In Egypt, the World Bank is financing a raft of airport development schemes, including a $355 million loan to construct new passenger terminals in Cairo and Sharm Al Sheikh, Bellier noted. These will eliminate bottlenecks and raise service quality to international standards. In December, Peter Kaestner, consul general of the American embassy in Cairo, gave a presentation about the importance of keeping the American community residing in Egypt as well as visiting U.S. tourists abreast of issues of interest to them. This is achieved through regularly updated embassy warden messages and via the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory website. He also addressed the topic of the volume of American tourists visiting Egypt. The Travel & Tourism Committee also organized a cocktail reception for a special viewing the new Sound and Light show, which narrates the history of ancient Egypt amid magnificent sound and light effects. In January, Nihal Fahmy, Cairo University professor of NGO management, and head of the UN Development Program (UNDP)’s coordination unit Michele Ribotta were guest speakers to discuss the “Global Compact” – an initiative urging businesses around the world to support nine principles in the areas of human rights, labor and environment. The private sector – in partnership with other segments of society – can help realize the compact’s vision, which is to establish a “more sustainable and inclusive global economy.” Also focusing on development was guest speaker Youmna El Hamaky, head of the Ain Shams University economics department, who, in February, discussed the role of women in economic development. El Hamaky said the process of “engendering” involves giving equal rights to women in the social, economic and political spheres. She noted that unemployment of women is four times higher than that of men, with 67 percent of the country’s female university graduates unable to find jobs while the number of female-headed households has risen from 16 percent to 20 percent. In March, Antonio Vigilante, resident representative for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), discussed local trends in female empowerment. He described the international declarations and laws focused on promoting the role of women in development. He said that it is up to women to fight for more rights, noting that women in Egypt are not as proactive as they could be. Haifa Al Kylani, chair of the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF), spoke in May about the challenges facing women in contemporary Arab societies and the challenges facing Arab economies. In July, Laila Iskandar, managing director of Community & Institutional Development ( CID), gave a presentation on the development of Egypt’s rural communities. She focused on the limited role of donors in rural development as their impact is hardly felt, noting that although millions of dollars have been donated to the development of Egypt’s rural areas, there has hardly been any change in the structure and way of living of these communities. The Women in Business Committee also organized a one-day field trip in September to SEKEM, in Belbeis, to tour the farm and examine the medical and vocational training centers. They also toured the Isis factory, the Conytex factory and SEKEM School with elementary, preparatory and secondary students. Joint Committees Transport and Maritime In February, the Transport and Maritime committees held a joint meeting with guest speaker Nabil Safwat, chief of the transport department at the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), to discuss the development of the region’s transportation sector. Safwat explained how effective trade and transport systems reduce total costs and time; increase safety; raise efficiency; streamline bureaucratic procedures; and enhance reliability and promptness of delivery. He pointed out that viable transport facilitation can be achieved by improving infrastructure, operations, legislation and administration, while simplifying procedures and automating transport applications. International Donor Programs and Human Resources The International Donor Programs and Human Resources committees jointly invited Larry Hearn, chief of party for the management development initiative (MDI) leg of the USAID-funded Partners for a Competitive Egypt (PFCE) project, along with members of his team, to discuss ways of enhancing national competitiveness. Speakers said that technical assistance and training strengthen the ability of enterprises to compete in the global economy. In May, Sayed El Bous, adviser to the minister of foreign trade, addressed a joint meeting of the Trade & Commerce and Industry committees. He discussed how Egypt could benefit from its regional agreement. El Bous gave an overview of the Pan-Arab Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA), signed in 1997. This obliges member countries to reduce all customs duties between them by 10 percent annually, virtually eliminating them by January 1, 2005. He also discussed the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA), signed up for in October 2000. This eliminated customs tariffs on goods imported from member states. Also discussed was the EU Partnership Agreement, according to which Egyptian-manufactured goods will be fully exempted from customs duties within 16 years of signing. The agreement is at an intermediate phase of implementation. Industry and Customs & Taxation Mohamed El Banna, chairman of the General Organization for Export & Import Control, addressed a joint meeting of the Industry and Customs & Taxation committees. He discussed the flow of Egyptian exports and imports. He also highlighted training staff in international quality control standards and the development of a database for tracking imports and exports. He also outlined the current scope of work of the organization in controlling the flow of exports and imports as well as briefed members on the achievements of the organization during 2004. The Transport and Maritime committees held a lunch meeting with guest speaker C. Bert Kruk, a senior port specialist from the World Bank, on public-private partnerships in ports and lessons from practical experience. He argued that the higher stakeholders’ awareness is of the nature of partnership arrangements, the smoother they function. Ports managed through public-private partnerships achieve a number of goals, including increasing the efficiency of services, raising capital, decreasing costs and reducing bureaucracy. Investment & Capital Market and Marketing The Marketing and Investment & Capital Market committees held a joint meeting in December featuring guest speaker Amr El Sharnouby, vice chairman of the General Authority for Investment & Free Zones (GAFI). He discussed promoting foreign direct investment in Egypt. He stated that for Egypt to attract FDI and realize its potential, it needs a skilled and productive workforce, a sound legislative environment, an efficient and low-cost infrastructure, efficient customs and tax management systems, political and economic stability, a dynamic financial market and a streamlined process for the settlement of economic disputes. |
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