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Statistics
• GDP: US$158.3 billion (2008).
• Main imports: Machinery and equipment, food, chemicals, wood products and fuels. • Main exports: Crude oil, petroleum products, cotton, textiles and metal products. • Main trade partners: USA, Italy, China, Spain and Syria. Economy
On taking power in 1952, President Nasser quickly instituted a Soviet-style command economy that was closed to Western investment. After Nasser's death, his successor, Anwar Sadat, gradually dismantled the existing system in favour of a policy of infitah (openness) towards investment. Egypt's economy underwent rapid growth during the 1970s with the swift expansion of the oil industry, tourism and the Suez Canal, and it has continued to expand in subsequent decades.
Annual growth is currently 7% although inflation had crept back to a staggering 18% in the past few years. Unemployment stood at 8.7% in 2008. The tourist sector is expanding rapidly, particularly along the Red Sea and Mediterranean coasts, despite sporadic terrorist activities of Islamic fundamentalists. Agriculture, which relies on irrigation from the Nile, employs one-third of the working population. Foreign aid, especially from the USA, is an important source of government funds. Business Contacts
Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce in the UK
PO Box 4EG, 299 Oxford Street, London W1A 4EG, UK Tel: (020) 7499 3100. Website: www.theebcc.com Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce 4 El-Falaky Square, Bab El Lok, Cairo, Egypt Tel: (2) 795 1835 or 795 6479 Cairo International Conference and Exhibition Centre Nasr Road, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt Tel: (2) 2263 3222. Website: www.cicc.egnet.net Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (Information on Conferences/Conventions) 6th floor, 4 Latin America Street, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt Tel: (2) 7925 5529 or 2795 7355. Website: www.egoth.com.eg Conferences & Conventions
Cairo has many hotels and three large meeting halls (seating up to 2,000 people), which are equipped for use as conference centres. The Cairo International Conference Centre, 12km (7 miles) east of Cairo International Airport, has seating for 2,500 people, with an exhibition hall, banquet hall and comprehensive facilities. There is also a convention centre at Alexandria University, which has a main hall with seating for 2,400.
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