Washington: As part of the close cooperation between the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) and the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), the Egyptian Economic and Commercial Office in Washington, headed by Minister Plenipotentiary for Commercial Service Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, organized and prepared the first promotional visit of Chairman of the SCZone Walid Jamal Al-Din, to the United States of America during the period from 1 to 5 December 2025.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the visit covered the cities of Washington and New York with the aim of presenting investment opportunities and incentives available to the American business community and promoting key target sectors within the economic zone. During the New York leg of the visit on 1-2 December 2025, a series of high-level meetings were held with several major U.S. companies and investment institutions, including Becton Dickinson, a manufacturer of medical devices, and Boraie Development, a company specialized in real estate development and construction.
The visit also included a roundtable with the international law company DLA Piper, in addition to bilateral meetings with representatives of Climatic Co., operating in renewable energy, and Duffy Capital Partners, specialized in sustainability solutions and waste management. The New York engagements concluded with two roundtable meetings with HSBC Bank and the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), with the participation of several American companies, including Citigroup, TCW Group, Alvarez and Marsal, Data Dynamics, International Development, International Merchant Bank, Operator Fund I, Resecurity, and Southshore Resources.
In Washington, D.C., Walid Jamal Al-Din held an extensive series of meetings with major American companies, including Merck (pharmaceutical industries), Blumbergrain (logistics systems), and Honeywell (automation and control systems). He also participated in roundtable discussions with major American institutions such as McLarty Associates, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and DLA Piper, attended by leading industrial and technology companies including Bechtel, Chevron, SpaceX, Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar, and Lucid Motors.
The visit further included a meeting with the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) and another with the United States Energy Association (USEA) to discuss cooperation opportunities in the fields of energy and sustainable transportation. The program also featured a roundtable organized by the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation in Maryland, as well as specialized meetings with U.S. companies in vital sectors, including water desalination with AquaTech, logistics security with OSI Rapiscan, and advanced technology meetings with ServiceNow and NVIDIA in the field of artificial intelligence.
The Head of the Egyptian Economic and Commercial Office in Washington affirmed that the office will continue to follow up on the outcomes of the visit and build on the significant interest expressed by American companies to convert it into tangible partnerships and actual investments in the coming period. In this regard, Minister Plenipotentiary for Commercial Affairs Dr. Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, First Undersecretary and Chairman of the Egyptian Commercial Service, stated that this visit reflects the advanced level of cooperation between the Egyptian Commercial Service and the SCZone in promoting Egypt as an attractive investment destination located along one of the world's most important maritime corridors. He added that the success of this tour in opening direct dialogue with major American institutions helps highlight the competitive capabilities of the economic zone, including its developed infrastructure, industrial value chains, and the reforms undertaken by the state to improve the investment climate.