Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Qabil said the EU is Egypt’s first trading partner, with total volume of trade exchange up to $25.7bn, marking a growth rate of 11%, including $8.5bn in Egyptian exports.
Qabil added that EU investments in Egypt amounted to $40bn spread over more than 5,000 projects in various fields.
Egypt needs $15bn in foreign direct investments (FDI) annually for five years in order to address the budget deficit and to achieve higher annual growth rates.
The minister said Egypt has a significant competitive advantage in Africa and the ministry is working on giving preferential advantages for most markets for Egyptian exports, like the EU and Africa.
In support of this strategy, the minister stressed the redistribution of Egyptian Commercial Services offices to play an active role in opening new markets for Egyptian exports, as well as in identifying the various opportunities for exporters.
Qabil noted that the ministry is working on opening five new Commercial Services offices in Africa in the next phase.
The minister revealed he will meet with the largest logistics services company in Africa next week to discuss ways to facilitate transferring Egyptian exports to various African markets.
Qabil presented the most important features of the strategy, which the ministry is working on to promote the industry and trade sectors in the upcoming period, in both the short and long term, which were presented to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Qabil noted that the ministry is targeting an attractive investment climate and facilitated businesses by overcoming all obstacles facing investors and importers as a short-term plan.
Meanwhile, the mid-term and long-term plans target achieving an industrial growth rate of 10% and doubling export rates, in addition to providing 3m jobs and supporting the competitive advantage of Egyptian Industries.
“The industry is facing internal and external issues, as internal problems include the energy crisis, the budget deficit and the deficit of the trade balance as well as the problem of attracting investment, in addition to the currency crisis and bureaucracy,” Qabil said.
