Egypt, Qatar Agree to Boost Relations, Increase Investments

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his meeting with the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association (Egyptian Cabinet)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his meeting with the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association (Egyptian Cabinet)
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Egypt, Qatar Agree to Boost Relations, Increase Investments

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his meeting with the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association (Egyptian Cabinet)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during his meeting with the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association (Egyptian Cabinet)

Egypt and Qatar agreed to boost relations and increase investments to establish trade alliances and partnerships.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that the exchange rate issue would soon be solved after the black market rate approached the official rate.

Madbouly called on the business sector in Qatar to invest in his country, stressing his determination and the governmental team accompanying him to remove all obstacles that prevent exciting projects by adopting several reforms and incentives.

On Tuesday, Madbouly met representatives of the Qatar Chamber and the Qatari Businessmen Association.

Chairperson of Qatar Chamber (QC) HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani said that the meeting aimed to discuss aspects and opportunities for cooperation between the Qatari private sector and its Egyptian counterpart in the economic, trade, and investment fields.

Bin Jassim hoped that the meeting would promote mutual investments to reach higher rates of trade exchange, which witnessed remarkable development in recent years.

Qatari businessmen are monitoring the remarkable developments of the Egyptian economy, and the big boom in infrastructure and development projects which provide many investment opportunities said the Chairperson.

He indicated that it incentivized Qatari business owners to direct their investments to the Egyptian market, especially with feasible opportunities in various sectors such as agriculture, food security, industry, real estate, hospitality, and others.

Bin Jassim expressed confidence that the coming period would witness increased rapprochement between Qatari and Egyptian businessmen, preparing a solid ground for establishing alliances and partnerships.

Madbouly stated that Egypt is prepared to approve laws on more tax incentives, including exempting investors from 55 percent of the taxes they pay in their investment field. He underlined that Egypt focuses on promoting the private sector's economic participation.

He explained that some international companies working in Egypt requested the introduction of specific incentives, which the parliament approved.

Several Qatari investors expressed their desire to speed up the establishment of the Egyptian-Qatari joint investment fund with significant capital, according to Madbouly.

Over the past nine years, the Egyptian state faced significant political challenges, including two revolutions and a war on terrorism, said the PM, adding that the focus at that stage revolved around developing and strengthening the infrastructure.

Egypt was able to improve and develop its infrastructure in various fields and sectors, establish a national network of roads, and provide essential services, which aims to achieve the goal of promoting investments.

Madbouly also stressed that the Egyptian state is determined to provide many investment incentives and focused on incentives in agriculture, industry, tourism, and advanced industries and technologies.

He noted that Egypt is a large market, adding that the state is keen to reduce the deficit in its hard currency resources, which can only be achieved by encouraging the private sector to find local industries.

During Madbouly's visit to Qatar, three memorandums of understanding were signed with several Qatari companies to support and enhance aspects of the partnership with the private sector in providing healthcare services.



Two Holy Mosques Welcome Over 122 Million Visitors During Ramadan

Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
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Two Holy Mosques Welcome Over 122 Million Visitors During Ramadan

Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)
Worshippers are seen at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque said that over 122 million worshippers prayed at the holy site during Ramadan.

A total of 122,286,712 visited, including 16,558,241 performing Umrah, 75,573,928 praying at the Grand Mosque, and 30,154,543 visiting the Prophet's Mosque, it revealed according to the Saudi Press Agency on Monday.

To efficiently manage the massive crowds, the authority adopted advanced technology, employing sensor readers at the main entrances of the Grand Mosque.

This technology allows real-time monitoring of crowd flow, improving operational efficiency and crowd management in collaboration with relevant authorities.