On 15 September 2020, the Egypt Branch jointly with CRCICA organized a webinar titled: Is Egypt a Friendly or Unfriendly Country to Arbitration? The speaker was Dr. Engy Serag, Contracts and Claims Director, Orascom Construction and Adjunct Faculty at the AUC. CRCICA’s Director, Dr. Ismail Selim, moderated the event. The introduction of Dr. Selim outlined that Egypt is a friendly country to arbitration since its early adherence to the New York Convention in 1958, hosting CRCICA as one of the first arbitration institutions in the region since 1979. Further, the decisions of the Egyptian judiciary adopts best arbitration practice, while the arbitration awards are enforced under the Egyptian Arbitration Act 1994 (which is adopted with some modifications in various Arab countries). Dr. Selim concluded that it is important for Egypt to be a favorite seat for arbitration to attract arbitration cases.

The speech of Dr. Serag focused on the need for an arbitration friendly judicial system to settle disputes in light of the recent investment projects in Egypt. She highlighted the challenges in relation to arbitration agreement, arbitration procedures, and enforcement in Egypt. In the Q&A session, several recommendations were highlighted to overcome such challenges. The event was attended by 221 participant from 19 countries; Bangladesh, Burundi, Canada, Egypt, Germany, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.