Egypt ranks the first among African countries in 2017 in terms of attracting Foreign direct investments, said CEO of COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA) Heba Salama.

In 2017, foreign direct investments in Egypt were estimated at 7.4 billion dollars to be followed by Ethiopia, she added.

Salama told African Business Magazine that Egypt took the lion share of foreign direct investments coming to the African continent in 2017 with a share representing 42 percent of total investment inflows to Africa.

Meanwhile, she made clear that foreign direct investments declined in world states from 1.87 to 1.43 trillion dollars in 2017 and consequently they went down in the African continent to 42 billion dollars.

She lauded the Free Trade Area agreement signed among African states, saying it helped providing more opportunities for investments, facilitating the movement of citizens and increasing inter-Africa trade.