Summary Investors committed $10.7 billion to projects on Saturday
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is boisterously marking the final day of a major economic conference that has injected billions of dollars worth of aid and investment in his country.
A clearly happy el-Sissi invited young Egyptian organizers to join him at the podium before he addressed the final day of the economic conference Sunday.
Several seized the opportunity to take selfies with the Egyptian leader.
El-Sissi said: "Some people thought my country has died, but Egypt is a country that God created so it can forever live." El-Sissi led the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and later was elected as a civilian president.
Investors committed $10.7 billion to projects on Saturday, a day after Gulf Arab nations announced a $12.5 billion aid package.
Investors committed $10.7 billion to projects in Egypt on the second day of a summit meant to spur the ailing economy, organizers said Sunday.
The three-day gathering in the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is meant to show the world Egypt is open for business again to draw investors after four years of instability and turmoil that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
The agreements include a $6.5 billion deal with Egypt s Orascom group and the Abu Dhabi-owned International Petroleum Investment Co. to build a coal-fired power plant over four years, they said in a statement. The deals were signed a day earlier.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has staked his legitimacy on fixing the economy and the conference is seeking a sign of confidence in the country s political stability, given a persistent Islamic militant insurgency and the government s fierce crackdown on Islamist opponents, which has killed hundreds, landed tens of thousands in prison and brought heavy criticism. He will address the conference Sunday afternoon.
Of Saturday s agreements, Cairo Financial Holding, formerly led by Investment Minister Ashraf Salman, had the second-largest investment
$1 billion into a tourism fund.
Preliminary engineering and finance agreements amounting to $5.8 billion were also signed, along with a further $5.4 billion in loans and grants from international partners and organizations.
The statement did not mention billions of dollars in agreements signed with Germany s Siemens AG or Italy s Eni SpA on Saturday.
Organizers say more agreements will be announced Sunday.
