Business Hub – Cairo:
At the conclusion of its two-day meeting in Cairo: The Minister of Trade and Industry witnesses the signing of the minutes of the fifth session of the Egyptian-Indian Joint Trade Committee
Nevin Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry, witnessed the signing of the minutes of the work of the fifth session of the Egyptian-Indian Joint Trade Committee, which was held in Cairo and was chaired on the Egyptian side by the Minister of Trade Plenipotentiary/ Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, Head of Commercial Representation. On the Indian side, Dr. Srikar Reddy, Secretary General of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Head of the Indian Delegation, The Indian ambassador to Cairo, Ajit Gupte, and representatives of the ministries of transport participated in the committee’s work. telecommunications, information technology, electricity, and international cooperation, The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, and the General Investment Authority, and the Suez Canal Economic Authority, and the Egyptian Medicines Authority, and the General Authority for Veterinary Services, and agricultural quarantine.
Nevin Gamea: Great opportunities to enhance joint trade and investment relations between Egypt and India during the next stage
The minister affirmed the ministry’s keenness to enhance bilateral cooperation with the State of India in various fields, especially at the economic, industrial and commercial levels. As well as working to increase and diversify trade exchange between the two countries, As well as strengthening the bonds of relationship between exporters and importers from the two countries and benefiting from the facilities provided by the Egyptian and Indian governments to accelerate the flow of trade between the two countries. She pointed out the importance of activating the role of the Egyptian-Indian Business Council in developing joint economic cooperation relations and benefiting from investment opportunities and the great potentials of the two countries and translating them into concrete cooperation projects that contribute to providing job opportunities and increasing economic growth rates for Egypt and India.
Gamea said that the joint commercial committee is one of the main mechanisms for strengthening bilateral economic relations with India, deepening the existing strategic cooperation relations, and foreseeing new areas of cooperation, especially in the field of food security and providing Egypt’s needs of some grains and strategic agricultural commodities, especially after Egypt amended the rules for importing wheat and approved the Supply Commodities Authority. India as an exporter of wheat to Egypt, Pointing to the Egyptian state’s keenness to provide an attractive climate for investment by supporting Indian companies operating in the Egyptian market or wishing to invest in it, as it is expected that investment relations between Egypt and India will witness a qualitative leap during the coming period, especially in the field of new and renewable energy through the entry of new Indian investments. To Egypt after the renewal of the investment promotion agreement
Yehia Al- Wathiq Billah: 6.3 billion dollars the volume of trade exchange between the two countries last year…and 3 billion dollars the value of Indian investments in Egypt
Minister of Trade Commissioner Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah, Head of Commercial Representation, explained that the committee held for two days and discussed a number of topics in various fields of cooperation, including investment, industrial development, capacity building, energy, food security, small and medium enterprises, agricultural quarantine, communications and petroleum. He pointed out that representatives of several Egyptian authorities expressed their aspiration to discuss ways to benefit from the expertise of the Indian side through rehabilitation and training programmes.
Al-Wathiq Billah added that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and India witnessed an unprecedented historical growth during 2021, reaching $6.3 billion. India ranks eighth as Egypt’s largest trading partner, as Egyptian exports to India have grown significantly over the past year, reaching about $3 billion for the first time in the history of trade relations between the two countries. The main items of Egyptian exports include petroleum products, chemical products, fertilizers, ammonia, cotton, And citrus fruits, while the main Egyptian imports from India are meat, rice, and vehicles. Pharmaceutical products, tea, coffee, Pointing out that Egypt and India aim to raise the volume of trade exchange between them over the next five years to reach $12 billion. In addition to boosting Indian investments in Egypt, which amounted to about $3 billion until 2021.
The importance of activating the role of the Egyptian-Indian Business Council in developing joint economic cooperation relations and benefiting from investment opportunities and the great potentials of the two countries
from his part, Dr. Srikar Reddy , Secretary-General of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and head of the Indian delegation, confirmed that: his country’s keenness to exploit the joint committee in consolidating cooperation with Egypt, Where the two countries have historical strategic relations, Appreciating the support provided by the Egyptian government to Indian companies investing in Egypt, He indicated the Indian side’s readiness to consider opportunities for cooperation in new areas of common interest to both countries, as well as to enhance technical cooperation by arranging virtual meetings between Indian companies and national bodies and their Egyptian counterparts to transfer Indian expertise to Egypt.
On the sidelines of the committee’s activities, the fifth meeting of the Egyptian-Indian Joint Business Council was held under the chairmanship of the two vice-chairmen of the council and with the participation of the Indian ambassador in Cairo and representatives of a number of institutions, companies and business unions in the two countries. During the meeting, the heads of the Egyptian and Indian sides briefed the participants on the most important issues that were discussed and agreed upon at the joint commercial committee meeting. The Vice-President of the General Authority for the Special Economic Zone of the Suez Canal presented the most important advantages and investment incentives and priority sectors in the region. The experiences of a number of Egyptian and Indian companies investing in the two countries were also reviewed.
