In the hot seat

Egypt's first investment minister, a sharp critic of the previous cabinet's policies, spoke briefly to Al-Ahram Weekly about his expectations for the cabinet new lineup

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The Investment Development Ministry is a new government portfolio created in the latest cabinet reshuffle. Its jurisdiction covers the Capital Market Authority, the General Authority for Investment, the insurance and mortgage sectors and Egypt's formidable and controversial public sector companies. Mahmoud Mohieddin, 39, now heads this new entity. His high hopes match his daunting task.

What sort of policies should we expect from this new ministry in terms of encouraging investment?

This ministry is responsible for all types of investment, be that foreign or domestic, direct or indirect. It is also responsible for developing the financial sector, which plays a complementary role, and is also responsible for overseeing the investment portfolio of government-owned companies and joint venture companies.

We have policies that were clearly established in a paper on investment prepared by the National Democratic Party. These are general policies that we are working to convert into executive policies. This is not something I will do alone, but in coordination with the various authorities.

Each authority has been requested to prepare and commit to paper the goals it needs to achieve. I will work on linking these ideas through consultations with the appropriate authorities. This will later be presented to the cabinet's economic group and the prime minister. What we formulate will be made public, leaving no place for speculation.

These policies will be transformed from NDP visions and ideas into executive policies, in consultation with all concerned parties. We are committed to NDP policies, but the country is not owned by the NDP government. We swore to safeguard the public interest. This is everyone's country. We are carrying out our role for a limited period of time.

I will act quickly. We don't have the luxury of time, there are issues that cannot wait for comprehensive policies. There are pending issues, problems created by bureaucracy, dues to be paid, complications stemming from a misunderstanding of certain decrees or laws. These will all change immediately.

What is the role of the General Authority on Investment and where should interested investors head?

The minister is at the service of investors and investment. I am responsible for policies, activating the law and removing obstacles. However, the ministry will not conduct registration or marketing. There is a separate authority for that. My role is to make sure that this authority is fulfilling its role.

How do you plan to encourage foreign investment in Egypt?

The best way to promote investment is to take care of the investments in Egypt, whether domestic or foreign. The rule is that taking care of domestic investment and its environment will, with some marketing, attract foreign investment. It is not enough to just advertise. We must make sure that the procedures for entering the market, operating and exiting within it are easy an unflawed.

I hope the General Authority on Foreign Investment will be something like the Welsh, Irish, South African or Malaysian development associations. We have sectors that are primed for investment, such as energy, tourism, export, and the food industries.

Time is not on our side; we can't delay. We are not competing with ourselves. Reducing registration time to three days is not enough, in other countries it is a couple of hours and could be reduced to a few minutes with today's technology.

We will fulfil our responsibility to fight bureaucratic inefficiency. The adage that "he who hinders investment is a traitor" is very true because it means lost job opportunities.

Interview by Niveen Wahish