Doorknock Mission to Washington, D.C. (March 11-16, 2018)
The Egypt-U.S. Business Council leadership took part in the Annual AmCham Doorknock Mission to Washington D.C. which took place during the period from March 11-16, 2018.
A delegation of 35 top-level executives representing U.S. companies and businesses that operate in Egypt visited Washington, D.C. during March 11-16 for the Annual Doorknock Mission. Over the course of five days, delegates took part in 89 meetings with members of the U.S. Congress, Administration officials, think tanks, media and leaders from the U.S. business community.
During their meetings, delegates promoted dialogue on important commercial issues and shared their perspective on topics of bilateral importance, all working toward the ultimate goals of building a deeper U.S.-Egypt commercial relationship, opening new opportunities for American firms, creating jobs and improving the lives of citizens of both countries.
Policy-makers specifically commended Egypt’s proactive steps in tackling the budget deficit, including monetary and macroeconomic policy reforms. Meetings with both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were uniformly positive about Egypt’s progress, with officials praising the government’s commitment to reforms and describing the program with Egypt as “meeting its set objectives and targets.”
Several events took place on the margins of the Mission:
March 13: A special panel organized by the Center for Transatlantic Relations at John Hopkins University addressed “Egypt’s Private Sector in a Challenging Regional Environment.”
March 15: AmCham Egypt Inc. hosted a special reception in honor of the visiting Doorknock Delegation. The reception, which took place at the University Club, was attended by almost 200 guests including executive branch officials, senior representatives from think tanks, Egyptian Embassy officials and different stakeholders and friends of AmCham Egypt in Washington D.C.
Egypt-U.S. Business Council and AmCham Egypt Joint Mission to Washington D.C.
(September 2018)
AmCham Egypt and the Egypt-U.S. Business Council organized a small mission to New York and Washington in late September 2018. In New York, both organizations co-sponsored a dinner for H.E. President Sisi with the CEOs of 20 American companies.
In Washington, the delegation met with senior officials in the U.S. Government, Congress, and think tanks, as well as the World Bank and IMF.
Meetings in Washington were uniformly positive. There is widespread recognition of Egypt’s importance to regional stability and to U.S. interests in the region. The World Bank and the IMF, in particular, are very bullish on Egypt and its future prospects - although, not surprisingly, both institutions emphasized the need for staying the course on economic reforms. We left with the clear impression that a U.S.-Egypt Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is not on the agenda in Washington, largely due to the fact that other trade issues and controversies - such as the trade war with China, the re-negotiation of the NAFTA agreement, and the prospects of a post-Brexit U.S.-U.K. trade agreement - are monopolizing attention.
President Sisi’s Dinner in New York (September 23, 2018)
On September 23rd, 2018, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Egypt Business Council, in partnership with AmCham Egypt and the Egypt-U.S. Business Council hosted a special dinner in honor of Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah El Sisi with senior representatives of major U.S. companies operating in Egypt. The meeting was held on the margins of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, which kicked off on September 18, 2018 in New York.
From the U.S. side, the meeting was headed by President of the US-Egypt Business Council and President and CEO of Apache Corporation, John Christmann, and Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Myron Brilliant. From the Egyptian Side, AmCham President, Tarek Tawfik and Egypt-U.S. Business Council Chairman, Omar Mohanna, and AmCham Egypt Inc. CEO, Hisham Fahmy were in attendance.
President El Sisi was accompanied by Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, as well as Ministers of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, Industry and Trade, Amr Nassar and Health and Population, Hala Zayed.
President El Sisi started off by thanking senior U.S. company representatives in attendance for their commitment to Egypt’s economy. Following that he went on to outline the main features of the Egypt Vision 2030 and the recent economic reforms, which were undertaken by the government and aim to further explore Egypt’s potential, and to promote bilateral trade and FDI. President El Sisi affirmed that Egypt is on the road to becoming a regional energy hub, and highlighted the national mega projects that were launched since 2014 including a national road network as well as the new cities being erected including; the New Administrative Capital, Mansoura and Al Alamein City.
President El Sisi expressed Egypt's commitment to boosting the economic partnership with the United States. He also extended an invitation to all U.S. companies in attendance to further explore the investment opportunities available and to expand their presence in the country.
President El Sisi highlighted the strategic importance of the longstanding partnership between both countries, describing it as ‘the cornerstones for security and stability in the Middle East’, particularly as Egypt is the largest recipient of U.S. investment in Africa and the second in the Middle East,” adding that “the U.S. remains one of the largest investors in the Egyptian market.”
U.S. Business Mission to Egypt (October 23-25, 2018)
AmCham Egypt in conjunction with the U.S Chamber of Commerce, the U.S.-Egypt Business Council and the Egypt-U.S. Business Council, organized a major U.S. Business Mission during the period from October 23rd through October 25th. With more than 110 business leaders representing 44 companies participating, this sizeable group demonstrated the U.S. business community’s commitment to the bilateral relationship and its optimism for the country’s future given the positive momentum witnessed following the economic reform measures adopted by the government in close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund.
The delegation was accompanied by Sarah Kemp, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce; Greg Lebedev, Senior Advisor to the president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber; and Khush Choksy, Senior Vice President for Middle East and Turkey Affairs at the U.S. Chamber.
Furthermore, the delegation included senior representation from the U.S Trade and Development Agency as well as the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), among others.
During their visit to Egypt, the delegation acknowledged Egypt’s proactive steps towards creating a business friendly environment, underscored the longstanding commitment of the American business community to Egypt’s long-term stability and prosperity; and explored prospective investment and business opportunities.
On October 23rd, members of the delegation, including Members of the Egypt-U.S. Business Council met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Also attending were members of the Egyptian Cabinet. During the meeting, the delegation praised the reforms adopted by the government to boost economic activity and attract investment, and expressed their aspiration to expand their presence in the country.
The meeting was followed by a special session titled “U.S. Corporate Impact on the Community.” It featured welcoming remarks by U.S. Charge’ D’Affaires, Thomas Goldberger and Keynote Address by Egypt’s Minister of Social Solidarity, Ghada Waly. During the event, Waly shared the government’s efforts to combat poverty and unemployment. This was followed by a series of presentations by major U.S. Companies participating in the Mission, including Apache Corporation, Microsoft, MasterCard, Pfizer, and PepsiCo, who highlighted their corporate sustainability programs.
The day ended with a special welcome dinner reception hosted by Marriott International at the newly acquired property, Marriott Mena House. The reception was attended by members of the delegation, Members of the Egyptian Cabinet, diplomats as well as select AmCham members.
The following two days witnessed a number of events hosted by AmCham Egypt jointly with its partners, including ministerial panels featuring: Ministers of Planning and Follow Up, Public Business Sector, Supply and Internal Trade, Finance, Military Production, Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Information and Communication Technology, as well as a keynote address by Egypt’s Prime Minister. These events were open to the entire membership to attend.
Furthermore, a number of closed meetings and breakout sessions were held for the delegation with several ministers and government officials including Ministers of Supply and Internal Trade, Information and Communication Technology, Health and Population, and Tourism. In addition, a limited roundtable meeting was held with key members and heads of committees at the Egyptian Parliament.
Mission events were attended by more than 2,500 members and guests, including government officials, diplomatic corps representatives, business associations, parliamentarians, academics, in addition to well as select media representatives.
A special session addressing “Project Financing: Opportunities for Private Sector Engagement” was hosted on October 24th. Panel participants included senior representatives from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The final day began with a delegation visit to the new Investment Service Center and the Suez Canal Economic Zone, hosted by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr. Members of the delegation listened to a presentation by Nasr on Egypt’s efforts to promote foreign direct investment, the investment map, and the new economic zones. They also met with Admiral Mohab Mameesh, chairman and managing director of the Suez Canal Authority, who shared latest developments in the Suez Canal Zone.
EUSBC also participated in the below AmCham Egypt Activities during 2018:
- Mr. David Green, Director of the State Department’s Office of Egyptian Affairs (January, 2018)
- Mr. David & Ms. Marina Ottoway, Wilson Center Middle East Fellows (February, 2018)
- National War College Delegation (April 2018)
- Amb. Frank Wisner, Chair of the Board, The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington And former Ambassador of the United States to Egypt (April 2018)
- Dr. Zeti Aziz, Former Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (May 2018)
- World Bank Transport Group (May 2018)
- Meeting with U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Egypt-U.S. Relations (June 2018)
- Mr. Peter Mehravari, USPTO Attaché (July 2018)
- U.S. Treasury Delegation (July 2018)
- The Center for New American Security (October 2018)
- Commercial Law Development Program (October 2018)
