By Ibrahim Mohamed
Chairman of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA), Dr. Tariq Al-Hobi received a delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, headed by Mr. Christian Ntumba, Director General of the Democratic Congo Medicines Regulatory Authority ACOREP, and Mr. Bami Kazila, President of the Joint Egyptian-Congolese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended the Meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Al-Hobi reviewed the role of the Authority in achieving food safety requirements to ensure the health and safety of the consumer and its leading role as a regulator of food circulation and safety, and the application of fair practices in food trade based on international food safety standards.
Also, he reviewed the aurhority’s role in the development and application of technical rules binding on food safety in accordance with Codex standards.
The meeting discussed regulatory frameworks that contribute to the harmonisation and twinning of food safety legislation between the two countries and help to remove technical and legislative constraints on food circulation between them, which will contribute to facilitating and implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AFCFTA) as one of the most important challenges facing our continent.
They agreed on the possibility of preparing a memorandum of understanding containing the regulatory frameworks for co-operation between the Egyptian Food Safety Authority and its Congolese counterpart during the next phase in the areas of training programmes and food legislation.
This meeting comes within the political leadership and the framework of the authority to co-operate with African countries to overcome the challenges facing food security not only for Egypt but also for the entire African continent, as well as to increase the competitiveness of Egyptian food products and to target new export markets.
