Cairo: Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid said on Tuesday that Egypt will sign a free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Switzerland, Norway, Finland and Liechtenstein. The agreement is scheduled to be signed on Saturday on the sidelines of this month’s World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
On leaving for Switzerland among an official delegation led by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Rachid said a free trade agreement with EFTA Group is expected to increase the market penetration of Egyptian food and agricultural exports.
“The agreement will give birth to a dispute settlement commission to protect rights of both parties in addition to other rules related to product’s certificate of origin for farm and food exports to EFTA members, the minister added.
Rachid pointed out that the Egyptian delegation will give a presentation to an audience at the WEF annual meeting on the investment opportunities in Egypt and the package of economic and political reform adopted by the Egyptian government.
“Members of the Egyptian delegation will conduct meetings with a great number of CEOs in large international corporations, the minister confirmed.
Rachid is also expected to meet with the WTO Director-General and other government officials at the WEF meeting to discuss bilateral and multilateral economic relations.
