Washington: Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Farid, engaged in pivotal discussions with Visa Inc. executives in Washington, focusing on expanding Visa's investments in Egypt and designating Cairo as a regional hub for digital innovation. The talks were led by Robert Thompson, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Government Relations, alongside Caitlin McDonnell, Vice President for International Affairs.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the discussions centered on the establishment of Egypt's first TradeTech Sandbox, a regulatory lab aimed at utilizing artificial intelligence to analyze export data and unlock new markets for Egyptian products. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to enhance Egypt's export competitiveness through technological advancements.

Minister Farid emphasized Egypt's preparedness to attract investments across various sectors, highlighting recent reforms such as the digitization of non-banking financial services, the introduction of e-identification, e-KYC, and electronic contracting. These reforms have significantly increased investor participation in the capital market from 25,000 to 350,000 annually over three years. Furthermore, plans were outlined for the development of specialized financial and technology zones, green data centers, and local software development to foster artificial intelligence.

Visa executives expressed appreciation for Egypt's reform measures and reiterated their commitment to expanding their operations in the country. They noted that the Cairo office now employs more than 130 staff members and acts as a regional hub for North Africa, the Levant, and Pakistan. Successful initiatives such as the 'Citizen Card' in Port Said and the 'Digital Villages' program, which supports micro-enterprises, were also reviewed during the meeting.