El-Khatib holds cooperation talks with Uber, Olayan, UPL at Davos

Updated 1/25/2026 10:26:00 AM

Arab Finance: Minister of Trade and Investment Hassan El-Khatib held a series of meetings with officials from leading global companies on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to explore investment opportunities in Egypt and enhance economic cooperation with international partners.

In his meeting with Andrew Macdonald, President and Chief Operating Officer at Uber, El-Khatib discussed the group’s operations in the Egyptian market as well as its expansion plans in smart transportation and technology.

Egypt represents one of Uber’s pivotal markets in the region, given the strong demand and large-user base, particularly in Greater Cairo, the minister noted.

He praised Uber’s role in developing the smart mobility ecosystem, as it offers income opportunities for thousands of drivers and creates direct jobs through its customer service centers.

El-Khatib affirmed that the government focuses on enhancing the business environment for tech firms and digital platforms by ensuring regulatory balance and investment sustainability. This is expected to drive the sector’s growth and raise its contribution to the national economy.

Furthermore, the minister highlighted the significant opportunities offered by the tourism sector for smart transportation companies as part of Egypt’s strategy to double tourist arrivals by 2030.

In this regard, he stressed the importance of developing transport services at airports and tourist destinations to improve service quality.

For their part, the company’s officials underlined its current operations in Egypt, as it supports around 150,000 drivers, serving nearly two million users monthly. Uber also runs a regional customer service center employing about 400 Egyptian staff covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Moreover, El-Khatib met with Salih Merghani, Vice President of Energy Sector at the Olayan Group, to discuss current and future investment plans in Egypt.

Marghani described Egypt as a “business incubator” that enables the Olayan Group to develop business locally before expanding to the global market. He rolled out plans to increase investments in promising sectors, including food, energy, and healthcare.

The third meeting was held with Jai Shroff, Chairman and CEO of India-based UPL Group, which specializes in agrochemicals and fertilizers.

Both sides explored areas of cooperation and reviewed UPL’s business in the Egyptian agricultural sector.

The group also works in seed development activities, deploying advanced technologies for packaging citrus and mangoes to preserve quality during export.

El-Khatib elaborated Egypt’s national strategy for achieving food security under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, which aims to significantly expand cultivated land.

Agricultural land was 6 million feddans before El-Sisi’s rule, and now reached 9 million feddans, with a plan to add about 4.5 million new feddans.

He added that the government seeks to transfer the management of major agricultural projects to the private sector under sound governance frameworks to ensure efficiency and achieve targeted outcomes.