Business 259customs (and don’t mind them calling you at home), get
cards printed with your home phone number included. It
looks so much better than scrawling the number on the
back of the card.
Business Meetings
Two things come to mind when thinking about business
meetings in Egypt. The fi rst is time and the other relates
to how a meeting is typically conducted. The best
recommendation I can offer is practise patience and build
fl exibility into your schedule.
Some people think Egyptians are chronically late because
business meetings never seem to begin ‘on time’ according
to foreign practices. This actually is not always true, just a
matter of perspective. Whether you arrive at the precise
moment your appointment is scheduled, or before, or a few
minutes late, you will not be shown into your appointment
until host hospitality formalities have been shown. As a
general rule, the higher up the offi cial is in an organisation
or government, the greater the likelihood a subordinate
will escort you to a reception room for some time to have
coffee, tea or a cold drink. Of course, as soon as I say that
is the standard, an exception occurs. This appears to be a
function of the perceived rank of the visitor. The more equal in
terms of social, political or business position, the more likely
you will be escorted to your appointment and then served
refreshments. In any event, Egyptians build hospitality time
into appointments and you are expected to adhere to this
protocol before business can be discussed.
Egyptians seem to build in a hospitality time in all of
their schedules, not just their meetings. Depending on the
circumstances, some business people actually operate rather
punctually, but this is often the exception. Nonetheless, you
are expected to show up for business meetings on time;
however, you will probably fi nd yourself waiting for some
time to actually begin the meeting. Even if you are late, do
not expect to just walk into the meeting. Most probably,
regardless of when you arrive, you will usually be shown to a
receiving area and served coffee, tea or a cold drink, to ensure