The Canberra Business Podcast
A podcast about all things Canberra Business.
The Canberra Business Podcast
Ambassador Explains Why Egypt Is Open For Australian Business
Looking for a faster path into global markets without starting from scratch? We sit down with Egypt’s ambassador Mr Hani Mohamed Nagi to map out a clear route for Australian businesses to scale across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe using Egypt as a strategic base. This is a practical tour of policy, opportunity, and on‑the‑ground support that helps founders, exporters, and investors move from interest to action.
We unpack Egypt’s growth story and why structural reforms have made it easier to set up, operate, and expand. You’ll hear how the one‑stop investor service center streamlines registration and permits, and how the golden license compresses approvals for strategic projects in renewables, manufacturing, logistics, and export-led industries. The incentives run deep: customs relief for production machinery, targeted tax deductions, golden visas for priority sectors, and clear rules on profit repatriation. Pair that with a domestic market of over 110 million people and trade agreements that open doors to 102 countries, and you have a platform purpose-built for regional expansion.
Sector by sector, the opportunities are concrete. Mining remains a standout with proven Australian operators and new junior explorers active across gold and critical minerals. Energy is accelerating, from solar to green hydrogen, supported by COP27-era partnerships and strong investor interest. Education links are growing too, as universities build joint programs that feed talent into industry collaboration. We also talk business culture—fast, direct, and outcomes-focused—and the infrastructure that keeps things moving: ranked roads, multiple airports, and major seaports.
The human element matters. A well-integrated Egyptian diaspora in Australia bridges trust and offers real-world proof points, while rising tourism and cultural ventures show how small projects can scale into broader trade. We close with practical guidance: how the embassy engages with companies, who to talk to, and what to expect during a market visit to free zones and key agencies. If you’re exploring new growth channels or seeking a launchpad into multiple regions, this conversation lays out exactly where to start and how to build momentum.
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Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast. I'm Greg Harford, your host from the Canberra Business Chamber, and today I'm joined by His Excellency Ambassador Hani Nagi, the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Ambassador, welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you very much, Greg, for having me today. It's always a pleasure joining you.
SPEAKER_00:Fantastic. Thanks for coming now. Let's start with a little bit about you. How did you get to be uh the ambassador of Egypt to Australia?
SPEAKER_01:I was nominated to become Egypt's ambassador to Australia in uh 2023. I uh arrived to Australia on uh Christmas Eve of uh 2023, so I had all the Aussie airports for myself. Fantastic. And I embarked on my journey in Australia, and uh now it's almost two years. So and we are uh I can see that uh the relations are uh deepening and we are fostering our bilateral relation, and this year actually we are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relation between Egypt and Australia. So I'm very content, and uh we are still working, it's a work in progress.
SPEAKER_00:Excellent. Do you enjoy living here in Canberra? What's what's your favorite thing about the city?
SPEAKER_01:Actually, when I came to Canberra, everybody said uh it's a calm city and uh uh and it will be very relaxed, and and so, but my my point of view was totally different. I said it's gonna be a very busy city and uh there is a lot to do in Canberra, and I was proven right. Uh Canberra is a vibrant young city. Uh you can get a lot of business done here in Canberra when it comes to our area of expertise. Uh but I love Canberra because it's a very well-balanced city, so I have time to do my work and without any feeling any pressure. I still have time for friends, for my family, for my hobbies and sport. So it's a very well-balanced city, and uh no traffic if we compare it to Cairo as well. So I can't complain. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:A little bit colder in the winter though than Cairo, I imagine.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, definitely colder than Cairo and uh in winter, but uh I can't complain about uh cold weather coming uh serving in New York and Washington DC. It's uh much colder. Yes. Um let me tell you uh uh a nice uh thing about Canberra weather. When I was presenting my uh credentials to the former Governor General, his excellency, uh David Hurley, he indicated that Canberra was uh by choice to be a bit colder because this encourages people to work harder and work more for cold weather. So I believe that was by design.
SPEAKER_00:That was the case. It was designed to make sure all the public servants uh that came to work in Canberra would work as hard as they possibly could and uh presumably not want to slack off and go outdoors. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:And I believe they are doing an excellent job.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Absolutely. Um now tell us uh a little bit about Egypt. Now everyone knows where Egypt is, but perhaps some people listening to this uh won't have been there, and they will know about pyramids and they'll know about sphinxes and they'll know about um the the exciting ancient and deep history that you have. Um but what's what's the current economy like and what's what are the sectors that are growing there?
SPEAKER_01:Uh I'll start with what you indicated, Craig, is that Egypt is very well known, of course. And recently we inaugurated the Grand Egyptian Museum. Uh it's uh the largest museum dedicated for one single civilization. Just to give you a glimpse, it's uh it's the size of 70 soccer fields. Wow, it's pretty bad. That's uh that's just uh that Egypt is quite diverse. It's not only ancient Egypt, we have ancient Egypt uh history, which is people say pharaonic Egypt. Well, we have also the Coptic era, we have uh the Islamic era, and uh Egypt is all about uh multiculturalism and interfaith. When it comes to the this contributes as well to the economy because uh uh peaceful coexistence and understanding is a great enabler to government in order to be able to uh draft and design the economic outlook. So and recently we embarked on a journey for structural economic reform. So the result in a nutshell that Egypt's economy is holding up well and continues to display solid resilience and momentum despite the regional and global challenges, recording a growth rate of around 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024-25 fiscal year. Egypt possesses a unique set of competitive advantages that position it as a highly attractive destination for local, regional, and global investment. Key enablers include strategic geographical location and trade agreements. Egypt's strategic location has positioned it as a key hub in global trade, making it the ideal gateway to international uh markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Egypt is also a party to nine international trade agreements covering uh access to 102 countries uh with a total population of 2.8 billion.
SPEAKER_00:So that's that's pretty substantive, obviously. But how much how much trade is there between Australia and Egypt at the moment?
SPEAKER_01:Uh Egypt and Australia, we have a trade volume of uh 924 million uh uh dollars. Uh the the the balance, of course, is in favour of Australia. Um but uh but uh it's getting uh more and more because we are trying to put specific emphasis on um developing our comprehensive economic relation.
SPEAKER_00:So what are the most promising sectors in Egypt that Australian businesses might be looking at? Uh uh there um you've obviously got uh a great great climate, um a big agricultural sector, and lots of infrastructure going on. But what's the what what is it that um would drive Australian interest in coming to Egypt?
SPEAKER_01:Uh I'm I'm very happy that you are bringing this to the table, Craig, is that uh for instance, I had uh our Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources just ended uh a visit uh to Australia, to Western Australia. This is the second visit within less than uh 45 days. Uh the first visit was to participate in Africa Down Under. And then uh we hosted uh junior mining companies from Western Australia that visited Egypt uh for almost uh five business days, and uh now we had our minister uh revisiting Western Australia, and uh there is a lot of potential when it comes to uh mining. We have a great success story for the mining sector uh with Australian companies. We had uh Sentiamine Company, which used to run Asukari Gold Mine, which is a major uh gold mine in Egypt since the ancient Egyptian time. Uh, also we have uh in the recycle sector, we have uh papyrus Australia, which is uh one of the Australian companies working in Egypt. They do recycling of banana leaves in Upper Egypt, and it's very successful. Uh also when it comes to green hydrogen, green energy, and uh solar, we have uh interest from Australian companies to work in Egypt. When Egypt hosted COP27, uh back in Sharma Sheikh, in uh uh we had Fort SQ, Mr. Andu Forst, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian government for uh investment in the green hydrogen uh projects in uh in Egypt. So this just uh a glimpse of what uh could be or happening in this area, but there are other areas that we are exploring as well. Uh there is education, uh there is uh now uh cooperation between some of the Egyptian universities, uh like uh Sinai University and uh universities like Western Australia, uh, Curtin, Cairns. So there is there is a lot of cooperation happening in the education field as well. Uh so the sky is the limit. I uh uh that's what I always like to say, because uh uh there is potential in all sectors.
SPEAKER_00:And do you think uh I mean you've mentioned a couple of big name businesses there, but I mean, is is moving into Egypt something for all Australian businesses or only for the big end of town? Is there room for small businesses there as well?
SPEAKER_01:We encourage small businesses and there is a lot of opportunities. We offer a lot of incentives, and there is a strong regulatory uh uh framework uh that uh that's uh a good enabler to companies to come and invest in e-ship. There's a lot of incentives that we offer. So, what sort of incentives are those? Uh for instance, we have uh the one-stop shop, so uh um only dealing with one entity that you can get all your licenses, permits, and everything. Uh that's one of the things we have the golden visa, for instance, uh that uh that's easily uh obtained uh for high priority sectors in in Egypt. Uh there is uh tax relief, uh, there is custom and duty reductions and uh for certain bid of time. And uh the most important is that we have the investor service center managed by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones. It's called GAFI. Serves as a one-stop facility that, as I indicated, that handles company registration, licensing, and post-establishment services, ensuring faster processing and unified communication with government bodies. One of the most significant licenses I introduced is the golden license that I referred to. It allows eligible strategic or national projects to receive one comprehensive approval covering company establishment, land allocation, construction permits, and operation without the need to obtain separate approvals from multiple agencies. It's granted by GAFI mainly uh to project uh that uh the projects that align with Egypt national development and development priorities. These are if if we would like to talk about what are these uh projects, uh it's gonna be renewable energy, uh green hydrogen, manufacturing, infrastructure, logistics, and export-oriented industries.
SPEAKER_00:So some real synergies potentially for Canberra businesses to um to make the most of some of those those uh areas. Um have you found uh a lot of interest from Canberra businesses in heading off to Egypt?
SPEAKER_01:We are working with uh Canberra businesses, uh, but we are it's uh it's a work on progress, as I indicated earlier, Greg, that we would like to attract uh businesses from Canberra to invest in Egypt. Um what we found is that recently uh tourism sector managed to attract uh more uh travel from Australia in general. For instance, this year, uh the first half of this year, we started to see an increase of 11% uh rate uh increase in from travel from Australia to Egypt. Yes, so and one of the amazing things that uh came uh along is that uh one of the camera businesses, um it's an Australian Egyptian. He he's working with the aquarium in Cannes, and they started establishing uh uh like a museum of replicas it's uh in in Cairns so as well. So there is this is started to provide uh trade as well because all uh the replica artifacts are coming from Egypt from one of the very reputable companies in Egypt that's affiliated to the Ministry of Uh Antiquities and Tourism.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, and in fact, I was up there recently and I saw uh some advertising for that. So yeah, yeah, it's exciting. Um tell me about business culture. What's the business culture like in Egypt? Uh can you elaborate, Craig? Well, you know, here in Australia we're we're pretty easygoing, um, you know, uh pretty informal often. Um, you know, is it is it the same in Egypt or is there a degree do people expect a bit more formality?
SPEAKER_01:Uh no, the business uh culture in Egypt is very welcoming. As I indicated, we have uh uh uh done a lot of uh reform. So when it comes to the investment law, the regulations, permit granting, and so, but the only uh difference you will find is that the rhythm. Uh we we we we we adopt a more rhythmic, a more faster uh pace for uh we in in Egyptian culture if we want something we want it now, and now is now. So uh this is uh this is how encouraging it is for uh companies to come and work in in Egypt. Uh so basically this is this is uh the the business culture. Um investors enjoy equal treatment with the nationals, uh protection from uh nationalization, for instance, and uh arbitrary withdrawal of license. Uh um uh foreign investors benefit from customs exemption on important machinery on equipments used in production and uh partial tax deduction of up to 50% of investment cost in priority regions such as Upper Egypt and Swiss Canal Free Trade Zone as well. Uh all all uh investors are guaranteed the right to transfer profits abroad in foreign currency and to own land within investment zones established under the law.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:So some good opportunities potentially there for indeed Australian businesses. Are there any are there any regulatory challenges that Australian businesses should be aware of in the Egyptian market?
SPEAKER_01:Uh I'm very happy that you are bringing this uh up, uh Greg, that and I would like to uh categorically state that Egypt has taken significant steps to improve the regulatory framework governing business activity uh through the investor service center, digital registration system, and the golden license mechanism that I indicated earlier. The government has reduced procedural complexity and ensured greater transparency. Any remaining administrative steps are being addressed under the National Structural Reform Program, which focuses on simplifying licensing, enhancing governance, and strengthening institutional coordination. These continuous reforms reflect Egypt's commitment to providing a predictable and investor-friendly environment for all foreign businesses, including Australian companies.
SPEAKER_00:Now tell me about the Egyptian diaspora here in Australia. Um there's not that many Egyptian people living here in Australia, is that right?
SPEAKER_01:Uh we have uh a very unique, uh, well-respected Egyptian diaspora community in Australia. Uh the Census Bureau indicates that we have almost 150,000 Egyptian um Australian, and uh they became very well integrated in the society. They are among uh the least committing crime, and um I don't recall that we have uh prisoners, for instance, or persons in jail or something, very, very, very few cases. Um most Egyptians are successful. We have uh uh uh ministers from Egyptian origin like uh Minister An Ali and uh assistant minister Bitter Khalil, and uh also uh we have uh very uh successful uh Egyptians in default, defense, many, many, many. And uh uh Navy, for instance. We had Mona Shindi, we have one of the Supreme Judges, uh we have Michael Noor, who used uh Diang uh used to be uh Diang personality of the year back in 2022, if I'm not mistaken. And uh so they are very well integrated, they are successful, they are mostly doctors, uh pharmacists, uh university professors, uh businessmen. So uh they are very well integrated too.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and and those um that diaspora must create some good person to person links between Australia and Egypt. Um, how do they work in conjunction with seventy five years of diplomatic relations? How important is it that that those ongoing people to people dialogues continue?
SPEAKER_01:It's it's very Important and and uh I always when I have meetings with our uh diaspora I always tell them please tell the story, you are the storyteller, because if if uh the Australian uh business community hear something from me, they would take it okay, he's the representative of the government, he must say so, and and so. Uh but I tell them tell relay your own personal experience when you visit Egypt, tell the story because it's more uh trusted, it's uh more reliable, it will be more well received. Uh we coordinate, and uh many of them they uh they really are very much engaged with the Australian community because they are uh partially Australian and then so uh they have uh good success stories to tell.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and and there's some great uh Egyptian Australian business people who are doing success. There is, there is, there is uh a lot of success stories. So taking account the caveat that you are a representative of the Egyptian government, I mean, what is your advice for Australian entrepreneurs or small businesses who might be looking to explore opportunities um up in Egypt?
SPEAKER_01:I I encourage them to uh visit Egypt. We have uh 14 free trade zone areas, and uh there is uh uh world standard infrastructure in in Egypt. There is uh a great investment atmosphere in in Egypt, and uh when we talk business, uh as I indicated earlier, there is uh agreements between nine free trade agreements between Egypt and other countries. We are talking about uh 2.8 billion people that you can reach if you are investing in Egypt. On top of those, there is more than 110 million Egyptians. This is the volume of the Egyptian market. So uh you stand a great chance of success in Egypt, adding to that uh the regulatory uh platforms that we are following in in Egypt that's trying to uh give a very strong positive message to investors uh as we are trying to attract uh direct foreign investment. If we talk about infrastructure, for instance, because this is a very important issue to uh businesses, uh we have between uh 26 and 28 airports, uh a lot of seaports. Um the quality of roads in Egypt is rated among uh the top 18 in the in the in the world. So uh there is a lot of infrastructure that can help uh businesses to flourish and succeed in uh in Egypt.
SPEAKER_00:It sounds like perhaps we can learn something from Egypt here in Australia in some parts, particularly on the roading uh situations. Um but tell me, how can the Egyptian embassy here in Canberra, you've got a consulate in Sydney as well, how do you assist uh how can you assist Australian businesses in navigating the Egyptian market and getting into it?
SPEAKER_01:Um when we receive requests, we it it I can uh say it's uh two main elements. Sometimes we receive inquiries and requests from companies, so we we guide them through uh the official channels. That's one easy way to do it. The other way is that we do outreach, like what I'm doing with you today, Craig, is that to tell the story. And uh on another level we do some uh very specific presentations like uh uh with the business community, uh business councils, uh chambers of uh trade in uh in Australia. I had very, very productive meetings with the Western Australia uh Chamber of Commerce, with the Arab Australia Chamber of Commerce, with the New South Wales uh Chamber of Commerce, and on top, of course, with you here in Canberra. So um, and we always project uh what Egypt can offer uh uh from for opportunities that we can offer. In addition, I recently wrote as well uh a couple of publications uh about the economic situation and investment environment in Egypt. And one of the articles, uh the title, I uh I um it was why invest in Egypt. And uh that holds a lot of answers uh to many of the questions that might come to the mind of uh investors or business community. Excellent.
SPEAKER_00:Well, we're happy to make that available to our members. Definitely.
SPEAKER_01:I will uh send you a copy and uh maybe we can have that available through the chamber website as well.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely, no, we'll we'll make that happen. Um uh Hani Nagi, the uh Egyptian ambassador, thank you so much for joining me here today on the Canberra Business Podcast. Um, before I let you go though, um it's great that you're enjoying your life here in Canberra, but what is it that you miss most about being home in Egypt?
SPEAKER_01:Um Egypt is is is what what you miss is that uh your extended family, uh your friends, and uh to see the development taking place in Egypt. Um my first visit to Egypt was after um a year and a couple of months uh since I arrived because I was traveling with uh Her Excellency the Honorable Governor General Samostin to visit Egypt. And um I found Cairo a different city than the one that I left a year and uh ago. So this indicates how the development is taking place. Of course, uh what we miss as well is the Egyptian humor and uh hospitality because Egyptians are very hospitable. And uh so uh you miss a lot. Uh it's normal, and uh the only uh downside is is is the distance between uh Australia and and and Egypt, but with modern technology we had overcome all this. But uh it's lovely to be here in Australia with the lovely people and great people of Australia.
SPEAKER_00:Excellent. And I hope you're building a new extended friend network uh here in Canberra during your time here in Australia.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, indeed, indeed. And uh it's amazing to find all these loving people of Egypt here in uh in Australia whenever I travel or I host events at the embassy or the residents. I I find people I I'm encouraging them to visit Egypt. They say, Yeah, we are gonna visit Egypt again because we visited Egypt 20 years ago, 15 years ago, and we would like to relive our memories. And so, and uh everywhere you go, you find someone who knows about Egypt and loves Egypt, and uh we love them back.
SPEAKER_00:Excellent. Well, thank you very much for joining me here today.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you very much, Greg, for having me and uh giving me this opportunity, this window to uh come through to uh your business community here in Canberra, and I'm looking forward to working together as well.
SPEAKER_00:Excellent. We'll look forward to seeing you soon. Um, I'm Greg Hartford from the Canberra Business Chamber. This is the Canberra Business Podcast, and I've been joined today by His Excellency Ambassador Hani Nagi, the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Uh, I hope you've enjoyed today's podcast. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast platform for future episodes, and I'll catch you next time.