The largest economic conference in Egypt’s history concluded Sunday (Arabic link) in the Sinai resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, resulting in commitments to large projects and agreements that exceeded the Egyptian government’s expectations.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was among the the hundreds of world leaders and business representatives at the three-day conference, designed to raise investments and help restore the Egyptian economy, which has been battered by four years of internal upheaval.
Reuters reported:
Addressing an investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Kerry said the United States would support Egypt’s economic progress “in any way we can” to ensure lasting growth and to attract needed investment. …
“We will work with you to secure ambitious goals you have laid out,” Kerry told Sisi. “There is no question that the emergence of a strong, prosperous and democratic Egypt is critical for a strong and prosperous region.”
The ambitious plans discussed at the conference included discussions of a new district east of Cairo that would serve as the country’s capital. The BBC reports:
Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the project would cost $45bn (£30bn) and take five to seven years to complete. …
The Egyptian parliament and its government departments and ministries, as well as foreign embassies, would move to the new metropolis, he said. …
Developers say the new city – the name of which has not been revealed – would include almost 2,000 schools and colleges and more than 600 health care facilities. They say the project will create more than a million jobs.
Overall, according to the Associated Press, the conference displayed significant international support for rebuilding Egypt and answered lingering questions over international confidence in the direction Egypt is taking.
“It’s a great show of support from investors and world leaders, and an excellent way to hold the government to account for the ambitious policies it has announced,” said Angus Blair of investment advisory firm Signet.
Besides major Gulf backers United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, who kicked off the conference by announcing over $12 billion in aid and investment, Western powers including the United States, France, Britain and Italy also praised the steps el-Sissi has taken over the past year, a message that was echoed by those from international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Summarizing the good results of the summit, Salman Aldossary, editor-in-chief of the influential A-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, wrote that even the most optimistic of Egyptian officials could not have expected the Egypt economic conference to succeed the way it did:
In one fell swoop Egypt has now officially exited this period of political isolation, delivering a stunning blow to the naysayers and gloom merchants who said the threat of terror attacks would put off global investors and leaders from coming to the conference. And yet here is Egypt, resurgent and stronger, with new economic blood – some 130 billion US dollars of it – flowing through its veins after four years in the doldrums. The amount of money pledged at the conference and those who attended are a resounding vote of confidence for Egypt…
Yes, Egypt has reclaimed the world’s confidence and its hallowed position and weight in the region, a point on which no one could possibly challenge it… In the end it was important for Egypt to show the whole world it had ‘awakened’ once again, as President Sisi put it on Saturday, and for the international community to come together to support this key nation in the region and help its people out of their four-year period of misery.
It was also essential that the attempts to foil Egypt’s new course backfired, even if those behind them may try again. Egypt is now back on track and moving forward with unstoppable momentum. Any attempts by its enemies to derail its course are now simply irrelevant.
[Photo: UNIDO / Flickr]