Following an earlier visit of an Egyptian delegation consisting of members of the Egyptian Council for Sustainable Development (ECSD) to Estonia,an Estonian delegation recently concluded their visit to Egypt, further strengthening relations between the two countries.

On this occasion the Council has arranged a roundtable discussion for the delegation as well as the members of the council, featuring Mr. Vaino Reinart, the Estonian Undersecretary for foreign affairs and H.E. Ahmed Darwish the head of the economic zone of the new Suez canal, to draw the light on the new projects in the area of the suez canal and the possible opportunities of cooperation and investment between Egypt and Estonia.

In his opening remarks Eng. Motaz Raslan welcomed the Estonian delegates for their visit and expressed his admiration for Estonia. He highlighted that among the many Eastern European countries he has visited on trade missions, Estonia as well as Belarus were his personal favorites. He also cited the significant economic progress that Estonia has been enjoying in recent time as a shining example that Egypt could look up to.

Raslan also welcomed his excellency Dr. Ahmed Darwish Head of the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal who was present to highlightthe projects that the government is preparing to offer for the investors from abroad.

Headed by Vaino Reinart, Undersecretary of Economic Affairs at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Estonian delegation was also accompanied by Pritt Masing from the ministry as well as delegates from the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which included Marius Kuningas and Jana Silakova. In his opening words he also introduced the group of business people that completed the delegation to Egypt:

Jannus Tamm from Defendec(IT/security services) JaanusRahumägi from ESC Global Security (security services) Nikolai Timofejev from Tere As (food & diary products) Gustav Mäe from Woodwell As (timber products)

H.E. Vaino Reinart’s Remarks Summary “I had the pleasure of welcoming the Egyptian delegation recently in Estonia’s capital Tallinn in order to intensify our economic relations as well as heading the economic delegation to in this visit to Egypt. Although economic relations between both our countries have always been relatively limited in the past, I believe we have been able to take first steps in order to intensify our economic interaction. Now that stability has returned to Egypt, it’s about time to intensify our bilateral relations and I’m pleased to say that there are a number of business opportunities ahead of us”.

Estonia has been enjoying much success recently particularity in its digital services, offering public services and private services online. That is why both the government of Egypt and the government of Estonia have signed a memorandum of understanding a couple of years ago to advance the digital agenda in Egypt and offer better access to digital services in Egypt.

Marius Kuningas’ Remarks Summary “As the Director of Services of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, I would like to thank you for the invitation and give you a brief introduction to Estonian economy and business development. Estonia is a small country compared to Egypt. Geographically it is about half the size of the Sinai Peninsula and it has a population of about 1.3 million people. The biggest industries in Estonia consist of manufacturing and trade. We also have a large sector dedicated to information and communication technologies. About half of the Estonian population is active in the labor market and the unemployment rate is 6.5%.

When it comes to the Estonian business climate, I’m pleased to say thatit’s very easy to conduct business in Estonia. The process of starting a company is quite a smooth one as all steps could be done online. So to establish a business all the paperwork could be done online within thirty minutes. Initially a company doesn’t have to have major capital to be established and they only pay minor fees for the entire process.

It is assuring for investors that the court and legal system in Estonia are very clear and transparent. To facilitate communication most Estonian laws are available online and in the English language. That’s why for simple interactions you don’t need lawyers and intermediaries.

When it comes to companies in Estonia, 85% of total companies are small companies that have nine or less employees. Medium companies make up 2.3 %, while large companies are few in Estonia and they make up a total of 162 companies in total.

Estonia’s trade regime is considered very liberal. Our main trade partners in Estonia are our neighboring countries of Sweden,Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania. We conduct medium trade with countries of central Europe such as Germany and the United Kingdom. Smaller trade relations are present with USA and China. The biggest articles that Estonia exports are machinery, equipment, and product outcomes of some unique industries such as processed minerals.

A new program has been introduced by the Estonian government to increase foreign investment in Estonia. Called the EU residency program, it enables investors to establish business in Estonia without even leaving their countries if they don’t need to. By gathering documents and establishing an ID card via electronic means, the entire process of business establishment could be conducted online, including filing for taxes”.

Dr. Ahmed Darwish’s Remarks Summary “We are trying to achieve a favorable environment for investment by creating an autonomous zone in the Suez Canal Authority. The idea started in 1998, it had its first experiment in 2003, and now we are preparing for a second trial.

In the Suez Canal authority the board of directors of the zone act as its governing body. The board sets the policies, does the registration and licensing. They have the same authority given to ministers, governors, and chairmen of authorities. Therefore the decision process all takes place in a single place. We are currently in the state of setting the process of electronic signatures, we will be able to register companies online as it is done everywhere in the world.

Because we are a free zone, the Suez Canal doesn’t have customs. The authority act as the interface for collecting taxes so the investors don’t have to deal with the usual tax authority in Egypt. The Suez Canal authority is asset rich. We have our own infrastructure, which includes six ports. We also have our own arbitration and dispute resolution facilities. Therefore are a self-running zone.

We are trying to become an international playerin an arena which already has many international players. The key international ports in the world are in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore, Dubai, Jebel Ali, Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Panama. We are prepared to be global and not only because of our great location but due to many other ingredients. We have six ports built around a single port. With a spacious area of 461 square kilometers it is ten times larger than Jebel Ali.

It is no secret that we are currently in negotiation with the port of Singapore authority to come and operate our eastern Port Said port. I want it to be the number one port in the world. Singapore port is currently the number one port in terms of efficiency and effectives”.

In the closing remarks Raslan announced the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Estonia and the Egyptian Council for Sustainable Development, expressing his ambition that through this agreement, both entities will work on strengthening the economic trade ties between Egypt and Estonia.