Egypt has pyramids, beautiful beaches and a unique history, but Britain is buying into Egypt for another reason – business

During a two-day visit to Egypt in late June, Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), discussed with bt Britain's investment priorities and the appeal of Egypt's resurgent economy to British businesses.

“Egypt has become a place where people do want to invest,” Jones says. “It's tomorrow's business. It's not making a t-shirt — it's making pharmaceuticals. That sort of thing will enable Egypt to compete as a third-world country.”

Hoping to develop trade and investment ties between the United Kingdom and Egypt, Jones met with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif as well as Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Minister of Finance and Insurance Youssef Boutros-Ghali.

He is also looking into ways for Britain to develop links with the Federation of Egyptian Industries, CBI's sister federation in Egypt. To that end, Jones addressed the British Egyptian Business Council, an independent bilateral body composed of senior business figures that feeds the views of the business community to both governments.

With investments totaling between $15 and 18 billion, Britain is the biggest non-Arab investor in Egypt. Its presence is obvious in most major Egyptian industries, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, cement and building materials, banking, mobile telephony, electronics — even the chocolate industry has been indulged by British investors.

“Egypt needs to be welcoming to business so that people can come, make a profit, generate money, pay taxes, stimulate entrepreneurship and create jobs,” advises Jones. “That is, a modern-day Egypt that will succeed in a world where China wants your lunch and India wants your dinner.”

“I am, in a way, a representative of the greatest trading nation on Earth,” boasts Jones. “Do British businesses know enough about the opportunities in Egypt? No. Do British businesses know how Egypt and Britain can trade and invest more in each other's countries? No.

“The British economy is the most open in the world,” he notes. “We have no problem with countries coming into our market with people working in our country. We are looking for countries with similar minds, for countries that will allow us into their country and will trade with us. It is very important, especially right now in [summer] 2006, that we trade in a world that is willing to develop.”

Besides being the longest-serving director-general of the CBI — the UK's largest employers' organization, with a quarter of a million members — Jones is also vice president of UNICEF. As a proponent of public-private partnerships (PPP), Jones asserts, “I don't believe that any government anywhere in the world should own a single industry. The quicker you can get everything in business into private hands, the better.”

Still, he says, privatization must be accompanied by a strong regulatory body to ensure competition stays strong. According to Jones, there are areas of the public sector, including schools, hospitals, airports and roads, where PPP should be encouraged.

“[Britain's] education is a PPP and is doing extremely well. We now have school buildings built and managed by the private sector, while the public sector employs teachers and provides the curriculum. It's a genuine partnership whereby teachers worry about teaching kids and not about a hole in the roof.”

According to Jones, these are “times of change for Egypt.” While he says Egypt and Britain have been very good partners, he believes that bilateral ties could be strengthened with additional reforms — and through the growing presence of British universities in Egypt.

“People under the age of 25 tend to be ready to learn and are more adventurous,” he says. “[Therefore] it is possible to get so many more industries and businesses to be based on knowledge as well as profit if you begin innovation, if you invest far more in education over time, you can add value in what you do, and the world will buy it.”

Egypt is favorable for its “unique selling position” and young economy. Being located in a place where “you've got your pick,” as Jones puts it, Egypt can easily choose to trade with a huge and prosperous market in the north, with Africa's developing market in the south, and with neighboring Arab countries.

“You've got enormous choices,” says an optimistic Jones, “and you could make the most of that, especially because you are such a young country."

By Sherine El-Madany

business today, August 2006