21 Mar 2012
Your Excellency Mr Hussein Massoud, Minister of Civil Aviation of Egypt,
Excellencies,
Fellow Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of the ASEAN Embassies in Cairo, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the official launch of the ASEAN-Egypt Business Association (or AEBA). Let me begin by reiterating my sincere appreciation to HE Mr Hussein Massoud, Minister of Civil Aviation, for kindly accepting our invitation to officiate at the launch of AEBA. I must also put on record our appreciation to Mr Karim Helal and the other members of the AEBA for their leadership and hard work in making this event a reality.
As it is still relatively early in the morning and most of us are not ready to digest a long speech, I will just share with you three key reasons why I believe that AEBA can, and will, play a useful role in supporting Egypt's economic revitalisation. First, AEBA can act as a bridge to overcome the knowledge gap between the business communities in Egypt and the ASEAN countries. I do not have any scientific evidence but I am fairly confident that if we were to ask the average man-in-the-street of Cairo, less than 20% of them will know what the acronym "ASEAN" stands for and even fewer can name the ten Southeast Asian countries that comprise ASEAN. In fact, most of them will probably confuse "ASEAN" with "Asian". This is not surprising given that the economic links between Egypt and ASEAN countries are still relatively under-developed. Egypt was ASEAN's 35th largest trading partner in 2010 with total trade between Egypt and ASEAN amounting to about USD 4.2 billion. Although this represented a 57% increase in total trade compared to 2009, many ASEAN businessmen remain unfamiliar with economic opportunities in Egypt. For many years, ASEAN companies have generally overlooked Egypt and the wider Middle East and North Africa region as a business destination primarily because of a lack of knowledge about the region. This can be a major deterrence because as we all know, human beings prefer to operate in familiar surroundings and conditions. With the establishment of the AEBA, I am confident that this knowledge gap will be bridged.
Second, AEBA can serve as a connector to bring together businessmen from both sides. AEBA will provide a platform for both ASEAN and Egyptian companies to interact, and allow them to identify business opportunities as well as potential areas of collaboration. This is an important role because the ability to identify the right business partner is a critical ingredient for success in Egypt. As most shrewd businessmen would confirm, selecting the right business partner is almost as important as finding the right spouse and can potentially make or break a business venture. With membership spanning ten Southeast Asian countries, AEBA is in a good position to act as a "match-maker" for Egyptian companies seeking business opportunities in the ASEAN region.
Third, AEBA can act as the synergiser that enables Egypt and ASEAN countries to leverage on each other's potential for mutual economic benefits. One, both Egypt and the ASEAN region are home to large populations. Egypt has a population of 80 million while the combined populations of the ASEAN member countries total 598 million. This population base provides companies with a large workforce and market for their goods and services. Two, both Egypt and ASEAN are strategically located. ASEAN companies wanting to invest in Egypt will find that they can easily spring-board into Europe and the North Africa region. In addition, the establishment of a free trade area between the EU and Egypt makes it easier for companies to export their products from Egypt into Europe. Similarly, ASEAN has concluded Free Trade Agreements with key Asian-Pacific countries such as Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea. ASEAN has also adopted the ASEAN Economic Blueprint with the aim of creating a single market for the region by 2015. This will allow Egyptian companies to use ASEAN as a springboard into the wider Asia-Pacific region and enable them to easily move their products and capital from one ASEAN member country to another.
The establishment of the AEBA is not just a step towards enhancing the economic interaction and linkages between ASEAN and Egypt. It also represents a commitment by the ASEAN group of countries to stand in solidarity with our Egyptian friends as they tackle the economic challenges facing Egypt during its political transition. Additionally, the AEBA will enhance the bonds of friendship between the ASEAN countries and Egypt by facilitating and promoting awareness and understanding between people on both sides.
Let me conclude by wishing AEBA every success in its endeavours. Thank you.