Egyptian companies mull investing $1bn in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Egyptian businessmen on Thursday expressed confidence in the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his business-friendly policies, saying that the Egyptian companies were keen to invest heavily in Pakistan.

A delegation of leading Egyptian businessmen had called on Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.

“The business community of Egypt fully recognises the vision and leadership qualities of PM Imran Khan and wants to contribute in translating his vision of Naya Pakistan into reality,” they maintained.

The delegation, which was highly appreciative of the prime minister’s speech during the 74th session of UN General Assembly, said the way Imran Khan raised his voice with argument for the protection of the rights of Muslims was laudable.

El Sewedy Electric, a renowned Egyptian company, on the occasion expressed its intention of investing $500 million in Pakistan’s energy sector. The delegation members stated that the Egyptian companies were keen to invest up to $1 billion in Pakistan over the next one year in the energy sector as well as the prime minister’s five million housing project.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, while welcoming the interest shown by Egyptian companies to invest $1 billion in Pakistan, said that the government would fully facilitate Egyptian investors and entrepreneurs so that they could carry out profitable trade activities in the country.

The PM noted that there was huge potential to translate the existing brotherly relations between the two brotherly countries into strong economic ties.

He called for the promotion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries at all levels so that the common challenges faced at the international level, particularly the negative propaganda against Islam, could be tackled.

Appreciating the services of Egypt’s Jamia Al-Azhar, the PM said that in order to tackle the challenges faced by Islam, there was a need to further promote cooperation among Islamic countries in the area of education.

Highlighting Pakistan’s new energy policy, he said that the incumbent government has been striving hard to promote renewable energy sector, adding the interest shown by Egyptian companies in this regard was encouraging.

The prime minister, while talking about the health sector said, “Since the present government had the vision of a disease-free Pakistan, there is also a need to have enhanced Pak-Egypt cooperation in the area of healthcare.”

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Egyptian Ambassador in Pakistan Ahmed Fadel Yacoub, Special Assistant to PM on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Naya Pakistan Housing Authority Chairman Lt Gen (r) Anwar Ali Haider and Board of Investment Chairman Zubair Gillani were present on the occasion.