Egypt on Saturday launched an initiative to set up an association of Arab investment promotion agencies that would operate within the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), the official MENA news agency reported.

Ziad Bahaa-Eddin, chairman of Egypt's General Authority for Free Zones and Investment, made the announcement on the sidelines of a WAIPA conference, which is currently being held in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Eight Arab countries have expressed support for the initiative, said MENA.

Bahaa-Eddin said he met with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan and Libya, and the new body will include all associations of investment promotion of the Arab countries.

It is important to have cooperation among all the Arab associations to improve image of investment in the Arab region, whose countries suffer from wars, instability and insecurity, he said.

The two-day WAIPA conference is under the theme of "Investment Promotion Agency Capacity Building and Investment Promotion Strategy in Africa and the Middle East."

Source: Xinhua