Egypt - Walid Gamal El-Din, Chairperson of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), recently participated in a promotional tour in Marseille, France, seeking to attract French investment to the SCZone.

Gamal El-Din participated in a session titled “Business Climate in Egypt: Challenges, Opportunities and Best Practices” at the Egyptian-French Business Forum. He reviewed the efforts made to boost infrastructure within the SCZone, including its industrial zones and affiliated ports.

“We established environmental and legal frameworks to provide an attractive and sustainable investment environment, developed infrastructure, and provided financial and non-financial incentives,” said Gamal El-Din, highlighting the SCZone’s strategic location, which can significantly reduce transportation costs. He also discussed the availability of various energy sources within the zone, as well as trained employees, all at competitive prices.

Gamal El-Din also reviewed the efforts to digitise services within the SCZone and the implementation of a one-stop shop that issues all building and operating licences to save investors time and energy.

Moreover, he also participated in a session titled “Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Maritime Sector”, where he reviewed the capabilities of the SCZone’s ports and their strategic location, which attract global port operators. Gamal El-Din highlighted the partnership between the SCZone and French company CMA CGM, which operates a container terminal at Sokhna Port.

“The development works that are soon to be finished across various ports of the Authority will increase the space of docks and trading yards, and deepen the draft,” said Gamal El-Din. “They will also boost the readiness of the ports to provide services for supplying ships with traditional and green fuel through the ports of Sokhna and East Port Said.”

Gamal El-Din also highlighted the development of the Arish port, which is ready to receive international aid for the Gaza Strip. It is also a hub for exporting cement and clinker from North Sinai. “All of this highlights the strategic importance of the ports of the economic zone, both regionally and internationally,” said Gamal El-Din.

During his visit, he met with representatives of French companies operating in the fields of maritime transport and logistics services. He also met with representatives of companies operating in various industrial sectors. He visited the port of Marseille, where he reached an agreement on cooperation between the port of Marseille and the ports of the SCZone in all ports and logistics development areas.

The attendees of the “Business Climate in Egypt” session included Hossam Heiba, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), Naguib Sawiris, Chairperson of Orascom Investment, Frederic Soliman, Attorney and Founding Partner at Soliman, Hashish & Partners Law Firm, and Pascal Furth, Head of the Economic Section at the French Embassy in Egypt.

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