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Naguib Sawiris, one of Egypt’s wealthiest businessmen and the former head of Orascom Telecom, has stirred controversy by criticizing the Egyptian army’s growing role in the national economy and praising the Turkish military’s self-reliance in defense manufacturing.
Sawiris criticized the Egyptian army’s expanding role in the economy, calling for its withdrawal from the investment sector and urging it to focus solely on its core mission of national defense.
In remarks delivered during a visit to Harvard University, Sawiris questioned the military’s participation in commercial activities such as shrimp farming, biscuit production, and bottled water, comparing it unfavorably to the Turkish army, which he praised for developing its own drones, armored vehicles, and tanks.
“There is no state control over the private sector, but there is harmful competition and that’s a strategic mistake,” he said. “It scares off both local and foreign investors. For example, if a foreign investor wants to open a bottled water factory and finds the military already owns one tax-exempt and with cheaper labor, it discourages investment.”
Sawiris emphasized that a military’s responsibility should be national defense and building a local defense industry. “It’s shameful that Türkiye is now a global leader in drone manufacturing and among the top arms exporters, and we haven’t matched that level of development,” he said. “If Trump tells Türkiye he won’t sell them weapons, they don’t flinch; they build their own fighter jets. The Chinese did the same. Instead of competing with the private sector in biscuits and shrimp, we should be self-reliant.”
This is not the first time Sawiris has criticized the military's economic role. He has previously spoken out against what he described as “unfair competition” between state-owned and private enterprises, urging the government to act as a regulator rather than a market player.
“State-owned and military-affiliated companies don’t pay taxes or customs,” he said, “so the playing field is not level from the start.”
Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, the Egyptian military’s economic influence has expanded significantly, with numerous projects awarded directly to the army. It often enters partnerships with private firms to carry out large-scale infrastructure work including with Orascom Construction, owned by the Sawiris family.
In 2016, President Sissi stated that the military’s share of the national economy was around 2% but expressed hopes it would grow to 50%. No official figures on the military’s financial footprint are publicly available.
While Sawiris acknowledged that recent public investment in infrastructure has boosted the economy, he warned that continued government competition still deters foreign investors. “I personally avoid bidding on projects when I see state-owned companies involved,” he said. “The playing field simply isn’t fair.”
Naguib Sawiris is a scion of Egypt's most prominent business dynasty. He made his fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian firm VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar deal. He now chairs Orascom TMT Investments, with stakes in an Egyptian asset manager and Italian digital firm Italiaonline.
Since 2012, he has expanded into gold mining via La Mancha Resource Capital, and in 2016, he launched ORA Developers, which operates real estate and hospitality projects in over seven countries.
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