EL ALAMEIN, EGYPT, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The first Alamein Africa Forum opened Friday in the northern Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein, bringing together around 1,500 African business leaders to discuss investment, trade and economic cooperation.
Running from Oct. 2 to 4, the forum aims to promote greater economic integration and business cooperation across the continent. It is co-organized by the Egyptian government, the African Export-Import Bank, and the African Union Development Agency.
Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development Ahmed Rostom said Africa represents "a top strategic priority for Egypt," calling for a shift from viewing the continent merely as an export market to treating it as an integrated economic system.
Rostom proposed a "co-innovation" model between Egyptian and other African entrepreneurs based on technology exchange and cross-border regional value chains.
He also called for more "patient capital" and a greater role for venture capital in supporting investment under the African Continental Free Trade Area, saying this would help position Egypt as a launchpad for African startups seeking global markets.
The forum was established as an African business forum to convene biennially in Egypt. ■
