On February 19, Amcham Egypt and the German-Arab Chamber of Industry & Commerce co-hosted a special breakfast at the Grand Hyatt with special guest speakers Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid and Norbert Walter, chief economist for Deutsche Bank Group. Over 100 members and guests attended the meeting, at which they discussed the macroeconomic changes that the world is currently experiencing and how Egypt could take advantage of these to further its economic growth.

The session kicked off with Walter stressing that today Asia has become a “focal point” in the world’s economy. He highlighted China’s amazing economic growth, which has reached 10 percent annually – a rate that cannot be sustained. “Countries like Egypt must look at ways of feeding China, [which] it can no longer do for itself,” he said. Walter predicted that in the coming period Africa would be a major focus of trade as it combines a rich combination of human resources and raw materials. “In the coming years, Africa could ride the commodity wave if it makes good use of its communication and transport channels,” the economist said. He went on to note that with more than 85 million people on the continent, governments must place more focus on education to transform their populations from a burden into an opportunity.

Rachid agreed with Walter about the dominating role that China plays in the world’s economy. He went on to share his experience during his visit last year to China. “The way the Chinese embrace change is very different from any part of the world... that’s why they are growing at such a fast rate,” he said.

The minister also agreed that improvements must be made to encourage trade transport within Africa. “Unfortunately, until now we haven’t been able to agree on a network of roads within Africa and currently we have no communication by road,” Rachid said. He said Egypt could learn from the experience of Asia’s economic giants. “There are lessons to be learnt from both India and China as their population was a driving factor towards growth... and our young population will give us our future.”