Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil held a meeting on Wednesday with Stefan Roumtier, the French ambassador to Egypt, to discuss the joint economic cooperation between the two countries, as well as increasing bilateral trade and investments, especially during the upcoming period.
Kabil and Roumtier discussed the future and nature of the expected cooperation between Egypt and France, where Kabil said that Egypt and France are connected with strong strategic bonds, politically and economically.
“The government is keen on attracting more French investments to the Egyptian market in order to benefit from the available investment opportunities as well as Egypt’s distinct location as a strategic axis, enabling launching French investments into Arab and African markets,” Kabil said.
The meeting also discussed several cooperation fields, especially the field of developing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and encouraging French companies working in the field to pass on their experiences in the field to the Egyptian market, especially the aspect of developing the skills of Egyptian labourers and marketing.
The Minister of Trade and Industry explained that increasing the number of meetings between the officials of the two countries aims to pave the way for a new phase and a leap in the economic and trade relations between Cairo and Paris.
Regarding the trade relations between the two countries, Kabil explained that they have witnessed noticeable growth during the period from January to August of this year, reaching €1.546bn compared to €1.380bn, during the same period last year with a 12% increase, where Egyptian exports achieved a growth of 21%, reaching €401m compared to €332m during the same period last year.
For his part, Roumtier said his country is keen on expanding bilateral relations between Egypt and France on all levels during this period.
