In the presence of Hong Jin-wook, South Korean Ambassador to Egypt and Mohamed Maait, Egypt's Finance Minister, Mona Nasser, Deputy Finance Minister, El-Shahat Ghaturi, Head of Customs Authority, Reda Adbelqadder, Head of Tax Authority, a meeting (Forum on the Egyptian Government’s Business Policies – ‘Recent Customs and Tax Reform Measures’) was held on June 16, 2021.
The meeting aims to introduce the Egyptian governments’ new policies including the Advance Cargo Information System ACI and e-invoicing and to discuss support for Korean Companies in Egypt.
It was attended by KOTRA, KOICA, and 14 Korean Companies Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDS, LG Electronics, etc, with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Tax, and Customs Authorities.
Ambassador Hong thanked Finance Minister Dr. Mohamed Maait and the distinguished ministry’s officials including the Head of Customs and Tax authorities for coming to the meeting despite their busy schedule, which reflects their keenness to support Korean investors and their business in Egypt.
Moreover, the Korean Ambassador expressed hope that the visit of the Korean president, which was scheduled last year but postponed due to the covid, could take place in the near future to help strengthen further the bilateral economic cooperation.
He also mentioned that he visited Ismailia and Port Said governorates on June 8-9, during which he met the Chairman of SCA, governors, and visited the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Port Said. Ambassador emphasized that the visit to the Canal Zone governorates and today’s meeting aim to explore new investment opportunities and open up win-win cooperation between the two countries.
In addition, Hong hailed the Egyptian government’s efforts to support and ease difficulties facing Korean companies. He added that the best way to stimulate Korean investments in Egypt is to showcase the success stories of Korean companies currently operating in Egypt and to continue the Egyptian government’s active support to companies to stabilize their business and operation in Egypt.
The Korean Ambassador said that today’s meeting is an important gathering that brings together all key players who lead the bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries, including the Korean companies, the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, the Tax and Customs authorities, and the Embassy.
He said that this meeting offers an exceptional opportunity to discuss plans for promoting our bilateral ties; expressing hope to hold such a meeting on a regular basis to keep up the momentum.
On his part, Maait thanked Ambassador Hong for hosting this meeting, briefing on the government’s economic reforms and efforts towards digitization.
He introduced the new ACI system and e-invoice, noting that these reforms, particularly on customs and taxes, are meant to ease procedures and facilitate the work of companies.
He stressed his keenness to support Korean companies and solve any problem they face with the application of the new systems. He added that the Egyptian government's eyes on attracting more Korean investments to Egypt, which contribute to first more job creation, second more exports, and third helping Egypt to change.
He finalized his comments by saying that his door will be open to any Korean Company, adding that the Egyptian side will continue to communicate closely with the Embassy and the Korean companies and offer all the support needed to help Korean companies smooth their business and operation in Egypt.
Following the welcoming remarks by Ambassador Hong and Minister Maait, the Customs and Tax authorities made presentations on the Egyptian government’s recent business policies and reform measures, particularly on customs and tax.
The Korean companies have also exchanged their experience with the application of the e-invoice system and their concerns regarding the newly introduced measure for customs clearance the Advanced Cargo Information System ACI, requesting the Egyptian government’s support to avoid any disruption to their business activities under the new system to be applied as of July 1st, 2021.
For their part, the Egyptian authorities have addressed the concerns of Korean companies and provided detailed explanations to their inquiries, stressing continued cooperation for the smooth operation of Korean companies in the future.
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