The meeting aims to identify challenges and develop practical solutions to enable companies to capitalize on international opportunities.
Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade:
- Expanding the footprint of the Egyptian companies in international markets will create employment opportunities and increase foreign currency inflows.
- We are working to connect all relevant stakeholders to overcome the challenges facing our companies.
- We aim at enhancing companies’ operational efficiency and developing technical and administrative capabilities to meet the demands of the global markets.
- We will also engage relevant international partners in our development plan.
As part of Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade’s (MIFT) strategy to strengthen business ecosystem integration and accelerate reform efforts to enhance Egypt’s economic competitiveness, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT Minister), Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, convened an extended meeting with Export Council for Construction and Building, attended by representatives of contractor and insurance companies. The meeting aimed to align efforts and coordinate roles to unlock new markets and support the outward expansion of Egyptian companies regionally and internationally.
MIFT Minister underscored the state’s priority focus on positioning the construction sector for international expansion, recognizing it as a major growth driver with significant potential to access global markets, generate employment, and strengthen foreign currency inflows.
Moreover, Dr. Farid indicated that increasing the presence of Egyptian companies abroad is not limited to direct economic benefits, but also supports experience transfer and advances Egypt’s role as a regional hub for engineering and construction services.
He added that the current phase requires the concerted efforts of all relevant stakeholders, noting that MIFT is working to create an enabling environment for the growth of construction companies by addressing the structural challenges such companies face and providing the necessary financing and insurance instruments to support their expansion abroad.
Furthermore, MIFT Minister stressed the importance of enhancing companies’ operational efficiency and strengthening their technical and managerial capabilities in such a way as would meet international markets needs and conform to international quality standards.
He further highlighted that MIFT is moving to engage leading international institutions, notably the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Italian Export Credit Agency (SACE), in advancing the development agenda—aimed at equipping construction companies with the confidence and tools needed to expand globally, supported by sophisticated financing and risk-mitigation instruments throughout international project execution.
Discussions covered the main challenges confronting the construction sector, with participants pointing to the limited pool of companies equipped to operate in international markets—underscoring the need for tailored capacity-building initiatives to upgrade SMEs and position them for global competition.
Participants further noted the underutilization of advanced technologies and digital solutions in project management and execution, a gap that undermines productivity and challenges timely delivery in line with required technical standards.
Discussions also highlighted the challenges linked to registration and classification frameworks in some markets, which hinder the entry of Egyptian companies to those markets. Participants also noted gaps in compliance with occupational health and safety standards in certain cases, potentially affecting the reputation and the competitiveness of the Egyptian companies. Challenges related to issuing letters of guarantee—an essential requirement for international tenders—were also reviewed.
As for solutions, participants explored a comprehensive system for monitoring tenders in target markets, delivering precise and timely information on investment opportunities and market dynamics to support the companies in making informed decisions and having effective expansions. It was also stressed in the meeting that the construction sector should be upgraded through targeted training, skills development, and cutting-edge technologies and software to boost operational performance.
The participants also agreed on the importance of providing advanced insurance instruments, including the issuance of political and commercial risk insurance policies, which would help mitigate the risks faced by companies when expanding abroad and encourage them to enter new markets with greater confidence.
In this context, Dr. Farid emphasized that MIFT will support this approach by coordinating with insurance companies to provide tailored insurance products that meet the specific needs of the construction sector.
In the end, MIFT Minister stated that it is highly important to maintain ongoing coordination between construction companies and insurance providers so as to create an integrated system that supports sector growth, enhances its competitiveness in international markets and conforms to the Government’s vision for sustainable economic development driven by exports and expansion abroad.
