US delegation to Egypt vows more investment: FT

A large, high-profile delegation of US officials and businesspeople has vowed to bolster investment and economic co-operation with Egypt amid a regional battle for influence over the country’s nascent government.

The coterie of US state department and White House officials, accompanied by representatives of dozens of blue-chip American companies, met Egyptian counterparts to drum up business in what was described as the largest such trip to Cairo not led by a sitting president.

US officials, speaking alongside business leaders and Hisham Qandil, Egypt’s prime minister, at a Sunday breakfast, sought to boost Egypt’s investment projects. “We hope this delegation returns home with a very simple message: Egypt is open for business,” declared Thomas Nides, US deputy secretary of state.

Egypt is emerging from 18 months of political uncertainty following the revolution last year which toppled long-time leader Hosni Mubarak, a close US ally. The elected government of President Mohamed Morsi, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, has made invigorating Egypt’s economy a priority. To drum up aid and business, he has traveled to Saudi Arabia and China, and plans trips to Brussels, Rome and Washington.

“The country has ended its confusion period,” Mr Qandil told the several hundred gathered for Sunday’s event.”The transition period has not ended, but at least we have a clear way ahead.”

Despite rhetorical calls for social justice and a few gestures such as raising civil service and soldiers’ salaries, Egypt’s Brotherhood is a steady advocate of free-market policies. Mr Morsi’s government appears set to continue Mr Mubarak’s economic agenda, albeit with a stated commitment to fight corruption.

Sunday’s showy public embrace of Egypt’s new decision-makers, planned for months by the local American Chamber of Commerce, comes as part of a scramble by regional powers to build influence in a pivotal nation emerging from decades of diplomatic stagnation. In recent days, Qatar announced an $18bn investment package for Egypt and Turkey’s national carrier announced additional flights from Istanbul. Saudi Arabia, the country Mr Morsi visited first after his inauguration, has offered Egypt $4bn in loans.

In a conference call on Friday, Mr Nides said that the businesspeople were traveling to Egypt at their own expense, underscoring the potential of the Egyptian market as well as its importance to both American commerce and diplomacy. “We view Egypt as a critical partner in the region,” Michael Froman, an Obama administration official, said during the conference call.

The US already provides Egypt with $1.3bn in annual aid and has supported a proposed $4.8bn International Monetary Fund loan. The Obama administration in May 2011 promised another $1bn in debt relief. Mr Froman said at the breakfast meeting that the Washington-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation would provide $150m in seed money to launch a $400m fund for small and medium-sized businesses in the Arab world.

He added that USAid, the state department’s international development arm, would soon disburse Egypt grants to conduct a feasibility study for a data centre, improve Cairo international airport and bolster the country’s online transaction capabilities.

Western companies in Egypt are a vibrant segment of the economy that, though important, is only a fraction of the size of the large state enterprises and homegrown and largely informal business networks. Mr Qandil described restarting tourism to Egypt’s many coastal resorts and ancient archeological sites as “the low-hanging fruit” for invigorating the economy, and asked countries to lift travel warnings that frighten tourists and tour operators. “This is a country worth visiting and it’s safe,” he said.

Mr Qandil emphasized the Morsi administration’s long-stated goal of streamlining business in Egypt and reducing hassles for foreign investors. “We want you here,” the US-educated former water engineer said to the representatives of the companies, which included Dow, ExxonMobil, Marriott, MetLife and Coca-Cola. “We want you here to invest and make profits.”

Mr Qandil said he would aim to make capital repatriation easier for foreign companies. “We want to enable you with easy entry and easy exit if you choose to do so – not £5 to get on the camel and £50 to get off,” he said, in reference to the scams used to fleece foreign tourists at Egyptian archeological sites.