During the sessions of the economic forum held as part of the "Egypt and UAE - One Heart" events. UAE Banks in Egypt... Joint Cooperation to Enhance Banking Sector Sustainability.

- Hisham Al Qassem: "Egypt is a distinguished economic partner for the UAE, and the presence of many international banks in it is evidence of its robust economy." - Mohamed El-Etreby: 5 UAE banks operate in Egypt with total assets of about 400 billion Egyptian pounds. - Yehia Abou El Fotouh: We enhance the possibility of benefiting from UAE expertise in Egypt as well as Egyptian cadres in the UAE. Cairo, October 26 / WAM / Representatives of UAE banks in Egypt discussed the reality of their contribution to achieving stability in the Egyptian market, during the session "Experiences of UAE Banks in Egypt... Sustainability in the Banking Sector", during which experiences and prospects were exchanged with representatives of the elite Egyptian banks in order to enhance the sustainability of the banking sector in the country, in light of the rapid global economic changes witnessed in the region and the world in general. The session came within the agenda of the economic forum, which comes within the framework of the events taking place in Cairo on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of official relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Arab Republic of Egypt, organized by the UAE in cooperation with the Arab Republic of Egypt over three consecutive days. The session, moderated by Emirati media figure Faisal bin Huraiz, was attended by Hisham Abdullah Al Qassem, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Emirates NBD Group, Mohamed El-Etreby, Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks, and Yehia Abou El Fotouh, Vice Chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, in the presence of a number of political figures and an elite group of media, press and economic figures from both countries. Hisham Abdullah Al Qassem affirmed that the Egyptian-Emirati experience in the field of banking has achieved great success and said: "The volume of trade exchange between the UAE and Egypt is very large, and Egypt is a strategic trading partner, and we have been keen to pump many investments."

Al Qassem added that "Egypt is considered a distinguished economic partner for the UAE, and the presence of many international banks in it indicates a solid and good economy." He explained: "The trade corridor in the region starts from China to Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Turkey, and this trade corridor is important for us, as the bank's board of directors was keen to set a plan to become a pivotal regional bank in the Middle East region" .. stressing that the bank's first regional headquarters was in Egypt, after which we acquired a French bank and the net profit reached 133 million US dollars. He said: "The bank's priorities for determining the success equation in Egypt are based on its attractive and encouraging economy. Without this economy, we would not have achieved success, and with the increase in the volume of trade exchange, the number of UAE banks in Egypt reached 5 distinguished banks." He pointed out that "UAE banks in Egypt are part of the economy, and one of their most important roles is to participate in supporting the Egyptian economy and market," explaining that Emirates NBD participated in all sectors and introduced new electronic tools to the Egyptian market to compete with existing devices in the market, in addition to participating in large corporate sectors and facilities for the government to support infrastructure. Al Qassem explained that the banking sector faces many challenges in the coming period globally, and that digital transformation is the biggest of these challenges, and if banks do not transform themselves, they will lose a large digital space; shopping sites and communication programs, a large part of their operations depend on banking work.

He noted that "the bank obtained the certificate of the best digital bank in the Middle East for 8 years" and said: "We hope that all banks will reach this digital transformation," adding that "the bank's trade corridor has been completed, it has a distinguished banking base, and Egypt is a strategic partner for us." For his part, Mohamed El-Etreby, Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks and Chairman of Banque Misr, affirmed: "There are 28 billion dollars of cumulative investments of the UAE in Egypt, and bilateral trade between the two countries last year amounted to 7.5 billion dollars, an increase of 7%, and at the beginning of this year it increased by 11%. These figures and percentages are apart from oil trade." El-Etreby pointed to "the presence of 5 UAE banks in Egypt, with total assets of about 400 billion Egyptian pounds, representing 4% of the size of the Egyptian banking sector, and the number of UAE companies operating in Egypt is about 1,300 companies, and Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt have a very large share of these companies with the UAE." The Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks added: "The average banking sector business for loans and deposits reached 42% in 2014, and now reached 48%, and with these percentages we have opportunities to finance small, medium and micro enterprises," noting: "About 400 million Egyptian pounds were made available in 2014 to finance small, medium and micro enterprises, now it has become 56 billion Egyptian pounds." El-Etreby pointed out that "153,000 beneficiaries from Banque Misr have benefited from the small, medium and micro enterprise financing sector, and with the entry of an Emirati competitor in the banking sector, competition increases, serving customers."

The Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks announced that all banks have completed their carbon footprint, consistent with facing climate changes, in 38 banks across the Arab Republic of Egypt. He added: "Among the evidence of the strength of Egyptian banks is the increase in the capital adequacy ratio from 13.9% in 2014 to 20.9% now, and these numbers are for any competitor who wants to participate in the Egyptian banking sector," noting that "the experience of Egyptian banks in the UAE and UAE banks in Egypt are successful experiences in both countries and for both countries." For his part, Yehia Abou El Fotouh, Vice Chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, affirmed: "The experience of UAE banks in Egypt is successful and achieves very good profits, which indicates the great diversity of the banking sector in Egypt."