Akhbar Al-Youm Economic Conference... Stepping Stone to Future, Op,ed

A glimmer of hope appeared yesterday amid the pandemic, within one of the most important economic conferences during the last decade, “Akhbar Al-Youm Economic Conference.”

This conference was held under the auspices of Prime Minister Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, and chaired by Ahmed Galal, borad chairman of the Akhbar Al Youm Asscoiation. It was also attended by many ministers and experts, while a group of major economists in Egypt met under its umbrella.

As usual, Akhbar Al-Youm Economic Conferences has influential opinions in the society and gain popular and public attention.

They led to the issuance of decisions, recommendations, commitments and clarifications, since it raises dozens of questions that revolve around the Egyptian street and represent area of concern to experts and specialists in the workshops and research circles that the conferences form. These conferences often come up with answers that everyone respects because it comes from senior experts, ministers and officials.

The seventh session is a special one in terms of the form and content, especially as it is held in light of a global pandemic for the first time and in light of precautionary health measures. Coronavirus pandemic has added its shadow over the economies of the whole world, while Egypt, within its new era, has become an important figure in the region. While seeing the opening session, during which Minister of Finance Dr. Maait delivered a speech on behalf of Prime Minister Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, I felt optimistic and hopeful that we would overcome the Coronavirus crisis with the utmost strength, as the performance of the Egyptian economy was promising and this is proven through the testimonies of the international bodies.

The conference this year includes 4 plenary sessions, the first session was run by Dr. Hani Seri El-Din under the theme of “The Role of Fiscal and Monetary Policies in Supporting the Economy”. The two ministers, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, and Dr. Muhammad Maait, along with Dr. Hussein Issa, Chairman of the Plan and Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, and Engineer Muhammad Al-Suwaidi, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, delivered speeches in this session and revealed the secrets of the financial policies which Egypt has succeeded in implementing to overcome the Coronavirus crisis.

The plenary session - which was held under the title "Investments ... Reality and Ambition", and run by the prominent businessman  Mohamed Aboul Enein, was attended by a group of companies chairmen, the Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, Engineer Muhammad Al-Suwaidi, and a large number of businessmen and investors. The head of this session highlighted the key to attracting investments and increasing income as the investment is the basis, whether due to the multiplicity and persity of its fields of industry, tourism, real estate and sports, or for the multiplicity of its purposes, whether in attracting foreign investments or helping local investors to overcome the Coronavirus hurdle and the economic repercussions resulting from it. During the session, my attention was attracted by the information, interpretations and visions presented by the ministers Hisham Tawfiq, Lieutenant General Kamel Al-Wazir, Nevin Gamea, Al Sayed Al-Qusayr, Ashraf Sobhi, in addition to Amr Nour El-Din, Advisor to the Executive President of the Investment Authority, Engineer Khaled Abu Al-Makarem, Chairman of the Chemicals and Fertilizer Export Council, and Mohamed Al-Masry, Deputy President of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

I think that Akhbar Al-Youm Economic conference has a strong impact on the governmental and private investment market. Amid the real challenges posed by the pandemic and the implications of this global crisis, I see that the conference is required to anticipate the future give recommendations on ways to keep pace with the fourth industrial revolution based on technology and explore ways to stimulate and attract major international companies to prefer the Egyptian market, which is characterized by safety.

I am sure that the organizers of the conference from the prestigious Akhbar Al-Youm Foundation are able to implement the decisions and recommendations of the conference under the leadership of Ahmed Galal.