Believing in Africa’s immense potential, Egypt and South Africa are seeking to deepen industrial co-operation and broaden investment partnerships across the continent.
Last week, Minister of Industry Khaled Hashem met South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mpho Parks Tau, to explore new opportunities for industrial and trade co-operation.
The two countries agreed to expand partnerships in the pharmaceutical, automotive and automotive supply chain, agro-processing, and metals industries.
They also discussed co-operation in infrastructure development and the establishment of logistics zones.
Egypt and South Africa, two of Africa’s largest economies, are seeking to advance their economic relationship beyond the exchange of finished products by promoting joint manufacturing, technology transfer, and integrated supply chains across the continent.
Moreover, the two countries share similar ambitions in the automotive industry. South Africa has a well-established automobile manufacturing base, while Egypt has recently been deepening its local vehicle industry, increasing local component production and attracting more investment.
Indeed, Egypt’s el-Araby Group and South Africa’s Malben Engineering signed a co-operation deal early this month to manufacture vehicle components in Egypt, drawing on South African expertise in the industry built over more than five decades.
The deal targets the establishment of a broad production base serving African markets and increasing added value across the continent.
Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Mohamed Farid, who attended the signing ceremony, pointed out that these partnerships between Egyptian companies and their African counterparts play a crucial role in strengthening economic and trade co-operation across the continent.
Saleh underscored the importance of developing the automotive components industry, boosting regional supply chains and making better use of Egyptian and South African capabilities, as well as the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The AfCFTA provides a broader framework for shifting bilateral industrial partnerships towards integrated production and trade networks across Africa.
For Egypt and South Africa, the agreement could help strengthen regional supply chains, expand cross-border production and progressively reduce dependence on components imported from outside the continent.
Transforming these agreements into effective regional chains still depends on African countries’ ability to connect their production bases more efficiently.
Industrial and trade co-operation between the north and south of the continent also requires faster transport networks and stronger logistics corridors.
Moreover, variations in technical specifications and accreditation systems across African markets remain a major obstacle to the smooth movement of goods and components.
Ahmed el-Wakil, chairman of the Federation of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Professions, said African countries still need to develop more integrated supply chains and strengthen logistical links through ports, cross-border roads, railways and maritime transport.
He added that reducing shipping costs is crucial to facilitating the movement of goods across African markets.
Egypt and South Africa are working to offer a practical model for wider African manufacturing integration.
