A mixed state of anxiety and trauma dominates among the Syrian community in Egypt, whether from the shopkeepers or workers in these stores, after the leakage of a copy of a periodic book issued by the Minister of Local Development in Egypt, Maj. Gen Mohamed Sharawy, addressed to all governors in Egypt, which included stopping the issuance of new licenses for commercial stores owned or shared by Syrians with Egyptians, except after obtaining the approval of the security services and the Ministry of Interior.
According to the image of the decision that was circulated on Egyptian and Arab websites, the aforementioned decision was issued on 23 August, and was based on the Presidency of the Republic Book No 7871 issued on 11 August, which contains a memorandum submitted by the President’s advisor for anti-corruption affairs regarding the position of the shops owned by the citizens of the Syrian community among the "refugees" in the country.
The book also included accusations that included Syrians in Egypt in general, and it is surprising that they were mentioned in an official book, and it contradicted previous statements of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in which he welcomed the Syrians in Egypt and the investors among them in particular, over the past years.
The book included that “chains of shops owned by Syrians that were opened during a short period, and despite what they were suffering from weak financial resources at the beginning of their stay in Egypt, a sudden wealth appeared on a large number of them. The book added that "these funds are from unknown sources.
Accusations of Qatar Links
The volume of Syrian investment in Egypt is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, and it is active in various fields of industrial and commercial sectors. It is an investment that increased after the Syrian revolution in 2011 with the migration of Syrian capital to Egypt, and the accompanying Egyptian government facilities for these investments and the encouragement for them.
The most prominent of these accusations mentioned in the book are the result of suspicion of “Brotherhood and Qatari funds for Syrians inside Egypt, to buy shops with important locations throughout the country and that there are some reports indicating that the State of Qatar finances Syrians residing in Egypt from shopkeepers, through members of the Brotherhood, through members of the Muslim Brotherhood, with the aim of forming a new economic entity for the group, enabling it to participate in financing its prohibited activities inside and outside the borders of the Egyptian state.”
What are the consequences of this government decision on Syrians?
Well-informed sources confirmed to "EQTSAD" that this book is correct, but some of them believed that the decision will not affect the business of Syrians in Egypt, especially that the licenses from the Egyptian Investment Authority for Syrian and foreign companies. Likewise, licenses for small and medium businesses from the Ministry of Manpower all before the decision required security approval and approval from the Ministry of Interior to grant them.
EQTSAD met a Syrian businessman residing in Egypt, who preferred to remain anonymous, who said: “The decision did not surprise us as much as we were surprised by the accusations and expressions it contained that we never used to issue by the Egyptian government and our Egyptian brothers.”
He added: “Until now, no official confirmation or denial of its content has been issued, especially that the language contained in the aforementioned book is similar to publications that were recently circulated on social media as part of an electronic campaign targeting Syrian merchants and investors in Egypt with the aim of distorting their image.”
The Syrian investors in Egypt are still awaiting an official confirmation or denial of this book, which may constitute a milestone in Egypt's dealings with the Syrian file and the Syrians in general.
EQTSAD
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