By Ibrahim Mohamed
Relations between Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are developing positively, as the field of food safety is an important area of interest to the two countries, which can boost co-operation between the two countries towards future prospects for sustainable development and investments in the food and agricultural industries.
Chairman of the National Food Safety Authority (NFSA), Dr Tareq El-Houby, and his Congolese counterpart, Mr Christian Ntumba, Director General of the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (ACOREP), signed a co-operation protocol aimed at strengthening coordination between Egypt and the DRC in all areas of food safety control and circulation.
The protocol also aims to co-operate in the field of joint training to improve workers’ efficiency by preparing training programmes, workshops, seminars, and periodic conferences in the two countries.
It also includes the exchange of experiences in risk assessment, testing methods, results assessment, and food pollutant detection methods, as well as the study of the domestic market in both countries to determine the consumer’s food needs in order to increase the volume of exports and imports between the two countries.
A Joint Technical Committee will meet every six months alternately in each of the two countries or at the request of one of the parties to examine any developments and follow up on the implementation of this protocol.
NFSA plans to conclude several co-operation agreements with African countries with a view to achieving integration in food safety policies and food control systems.
This was one of the outcomes of the African Food Regulatory Authorities Forum (AFRAF), held in the Administrative Capital from October 11–13, 2023, and organised by NFSA.
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