German Amb.: Confidence in Egypt’s Economy Behind IMF Loan Approval

The German Ambassador to Egypt Cyrill Nunn said that the confidence in the capabilities of the Egyptian economy was a motivation for Germany to support the decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to grant Egypt $ 5.2 billion through the credit preparedness program last month.

The aim of the program was helping the government preserve the economic gains made during the past four years, while continuing to ensure adequate health and social spending, and give an additional impetus to structural reforms, such as enhancing competitiveness and transparency, thus putting Egypt on a path of continuous recovery.

This came during a webinar held on Wednesday by the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) in cooperation with the German Embassy in Cairo, on investment opportunities in the Egyptian health care sector.

Nunn explained that Egypt's success in implementing its reform program provided strength for the Egyptian economy to face the health and economic repercussions of the novel coronavirus pandemic, stressing that the stability of the Middle East region depends largely on the economic situation in Egypt.

The ambassador noted that there is a positive trend in the German business sector to enter the Egyptian market as a major hub for regional and African markets.

He announced the German embassy works with all parties to enhance cooperation in the health sector and transfer German expertise, praising the success of the health sector in Egypt, which he described as one of the best in the Middle East region, in keeping the numbers of corona deaths under control.

He added that the emerging markets are now facing a global competition, and there is little room for inaction to push these reforms, which gives Egypt an opportunity as it is expected to be the only country to achieve positive growth in the region, which requires persification of industry and foreign direct investment (FDI).

On his part, Emad Ghaly, Chairman of the German Chamber and Managing Director of Siemens Egypt said that the pandemic represents a real test for the global health sector and medical practices in the world, noting that countries have sought to limit the spread of the virus with minimal economic losses.

He stressed that the medical teams in Egypt, including doctors, nurses and technicians, are making a great effort, and that the health sector as a whole made great sacrifices, which contributed to the gradual decline in the numbers of cases and deaths since the middle of this month, including some Red Sea governorates that haven't recorded any new cases within 24 hours, which is a strong driver for the return of tourism.

Head of Foreign Trade & Export Promotion at PECTARIS Jennifer Goldenstede reviewed export opportunities for German medical devices companies in emerging markets, especially Egypt, explaining that German companies exported € 106 million worth of medical devices to Egypt during 2019, an increase towards 47% from €  72 million in 2018.

Goldenstede added that many meetings were held between the Egyptian and German makers, while the "EgyMedica" conference was scheduled to take place last April in Cairo, yet, the existing health situation prompted the postponement of the conference to April 2021.

Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, the President's Adviser on Health and Prevention Affairs pointed out that the corona pandemic poses a medium and long-term threat to pharmaceutical companies, as some of them around the world were forced to halt production or stop exports to provide their stocks for local consumption, which creates an area to think about the importance of investment in the pharmaceutical and health sector in the future.