Egypt’s factories in Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray region in north Ethiopia, with total investments of $10 million, are at risk and may suffer huge losses due to the ongoing civil war in the region, said head of the Egyptian industrial zone in Ethiopia and deputy head of the Federation of Egyptian Investors Alaa El-Saqti.
In a statement on Monday, El-Saqti pointed out that communication with the Egyptian factories in Mekelle have been severed since the civil war broke out in Tigray, expressing his fears the factories may be destroyed due to the war.
He added that Egyptian investments in Ethiopia exceeded $700 million in the period from 2010 to 2018, according to official data, adding that he had obtained a licence to allocate a land to establish the Egyptian industrial zone in Ethiopia in light of the attention the Egyptian leadership has given to integrating with African countries economically.
“We are considering now the legal actions that can be taken, on the international level, to call on the Ethiopian authorities to protect the Egyptian investments in Tigray and to compensate for the losses. The Egyptian investments are not secured and Egyptian businessmen are providing security for their investments single-handedly,” said El-Saqti.
El-Saqti called on the African Union to fast-track the activation of the role of the Venture Risks in Africa Fund to protect Egyptian investments in African countries facing unrest such as Ethiopia and to consider more guarantees that aim at protecting capitals there in order to achieve the required economic growth in Africa.
A week ago, the Ethiopian army declared what it called an “aimless war” with its northern Tigray region, which said that areas around the capital were being bombed by fighter jets.
