Minister of Tourism Hisham Zazou has denied Sunday enacting programme to sell Egyptian citizenship to foreign investors to facilitate investments in the country.

Zaazou confirmed in a statement that he had received the project from an applicant but urged the applicant to first present his idea to the security, judicial and economic authorities.

The minister added that if the aforementioned parties thought there are no prohibitions regarding the project, then it can be sent to the cabinet for approval.

Economic experts have recently begun discussing the idea of selling of Egyptian citizenship to foreign investors as a solution to the deteriorating investment climate in Egypt.

Following the 25 January Revolution, official figures show Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) fell drastically due to instability, from approximately $13.2bn in the 2007/2008 fiscal year to around $5bn in the last fiscal year (FY). A total amount of $2.8bn of the $5bn was in the first half only, according to chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Hassan Fahmy. In FY 2012/2013, FDI had marked $3bn.