Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Amr Nassar said that Egypt’s ratification on the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in June 1998 and its joining the COMESA free trade area since its establishment in October 2000 contributed to achieving mutual benefit and common interests for Egypt and other member countries.
Nassar said that the value of Egypt’s imports from the COMESA countries reached $154m in 1998, increasing to $608m in 2017. Egyptian exports, including exports to Libya and Sudan, increased from $46m in 1998 to $1.6bn in 2017.
Nassar pointed out that Egypt has injected more investments in a number of COMESA member states, referring to the successful conference held by Egypt on investment in Africa last December in Sharm El-Sheikh, which aimed at attracting foreign investments to African countries.
The minister also invited COMESA member states to participate in the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), which is scheduled to be hosted by Cairo from 11-17 December 2018, in cooperation with the African Import and Export Bank (Afreximbank).
The exhibition is the first of its kind, as it represents a platform to exchange information on trade, investment, and the market, with a view to promote trade between COMESA states.
