Egypt draws on expatriate scientists for future growth

More than 30 expatriate scientists gathered at a two-day conference in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Hurghada to contribute to the country's future development plans.

The National Conference for Egyptian Scientists and Experts Abroad, which was held under the slogan of "Egypt Can," tackled means of achieving higher rates of economic growth, accelerating development, luring investments as well as discussing the economic challenges.

"The Suez Canal project is vital for the economic development and a lifeblood for the world trade," said Abdel Halem Omar, professor of transportation engineering in Canada-based Carleton University.

The professor highlighted the importance of the transportation sector, especially the shipping, pointing out that the Suez Canal is a main source for luring investments.

Stressing the importance of securing this vital maritime navigation passage, Omar noted that transportation is the favorable target of the terrorist attacks.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, after the inauguration of the conference, said Egypt seeks to make the Suez Canal corridor one of the most attractive areas for different investments and industries.

The development projects of the Suez Canal axis could meet the demands of the Arab, Middle East and African countries needs, and provide millions of job opportunities to eliminate the unemployment phenomenon, Ismail said.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Darwish, a senior economic official at the Suez Canal Authority, expected "the Suez Canal region to be one of the most seven investment-attractive zones in the world."

He pointed out that the Suez Canal corridor includes four industrial cities and six vital large ports, hailing the development work of Chinese corporation TEDA that operates in Ain Sokhna in the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (SETC Zone).

Darwish added that the eastern Port Said region will see the establishment of about five-kilometer wharfs to be among the longest in the world, besides the establishment of industrial and logistic zones.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Riyad, head of "Sustainability Academy" agreed with many other scientists that luring foreign investors should depend on well-planned vision to manage crisis and deterioration, considering the transportation sector is a main target for terrorism.

Riyad called for establishing a national institution to evaluate and administer the crises in the Suez Canal region in collaboration of the government, private sector and local residents.

The Suez Canal Corridor Area Project is a mega project in Egypt that was launched in August 2014 by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to increase the role of the Suez Canal region in international trade and to develop the three canal cities of Suez, Ismailia and Port Said.

The project involves building a new Ismailia city, and industrial zone, fish farms, completing the technology valley, building new tunnels between Sinai and Ismailia and Port Said, improving five existing ports, and digging a new canal parallel to the Suez Canal.

The conference also focused on expanding the scope of urbanism far from the Delta, establishing new capitals, reclaiming the deserts to alleviate the burdens on Cairo and solving the problem of unemployment.

The General Union of Egyptians abroad revealed that there are 9,750,000 Egyptian expats, adding that Egypt's real crisis is the immigration of enlightened minds, as the scientists escape from the routine of bureaucracy and administrative corruption.

Egypt is keen to learn from the expatriate scientists to achieve the objectives of sustainable development strategy and to form researching groups to aid in planning for luring foreign investments for the national mega projects with international criteria and under supervision of Egyptian experts inside and abroad, the Prime Minister asserted.

source: Xinhua