CAIRO – Egyptian Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Alaa Farouk said Egyptian-Serbian relations are historic at the bilateral level since the beginning of diplomatic relations in 1908 as well as the multilateral level highlighting prominent role of the two countries in establishing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
During a speech delivered by the minister of agriculture Tuesday – on behalf of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly – as part of celebration of the National Day and the Armed Forces Day of Serbia, in the presence of Serbian ambassador in Cairo Miroslav Šestovic, some representatives of government sectors, ambassadors of foreign countries and representatives of unions and international organizations, the minister of agriculture said, Egyptian-Serbian ties witnessed significant growth through the exchange of high-level visits between the two sides, referring to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to Serbia in 2022, as Egypt and Serbia agreed to establish the Joint Higher Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.
A number of agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were also signed to enhance joint bilateral cooperation, most notably the Free Trade Agreement, which contributes to increasing flow of exports and imports between the two countries, as well as the signing of a number of agreements in the fields of higher education, culture, trade, agriculture and investment, said the minister.
Farouk added that Egypt was also honored by the visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Cairo in July 2024 as he met with President Sisi to enhance joint cooperation between the two sides. He also met with the Egyptian prime minister as they opened the activities of the Egyptian-Serbian Business Forum.
He explained that Egyptian-Serbian relations witnessed great political, economic and cultural momentum, especially following an exchange of a series of mutual presidential visits. Moreover, the two sides are currently cooperating in a number of important domains.
According to the minister, an Egyptian company has also begun manufacturing agricultural tractors in Serbia, in cooperation with Serbian investors. He noted that data on the volume of trade exchange between the two countries has shown a noticeable increase in recent years.
The volume of trade exchange between the two sides rose from dlrs 94 million in 2022 to reach around dlrs 300 million in 2024, including Serbian imports amounting to about dlrs 41 million to Egypt, while Egypt’s exports of various goods to Serbia amounted to about dlrs 72 million, while services, especially tourism, represented about dlrs 180 million, he said.
The minister pointed out that for Serbia, Egypt represents the gateway for its products to the markets of the African continent through the “African Free Trade Area” agreement.
Farouk voiced hope that Serbia would be a center for distributing Egyptian agricultural products to neighboring Arab countries in Eastern Europe and benefiting from the free trade agreement that was signed with Serbia.
He also invited Serbian investors to invest in various sectors with Egypt, in light of the investment conditions and incentives currently provided by the Egyptian government to expand investment and encourage the foreign private sector, out of the Egyptian State’s belief in the importance of economic integration between countries, with a view to promoting cooperation that would reflect the common interest of the two countries.
Meantime, the minister underlined the importance of taking advantage of each country’s comparative advantage in any of the agricultural or tourism fields, investment, communications, information technology, housing, to raise the standard of living of its citizens.
He cited issues that should be focused on during the next stage as a basis that would reflect common interests of the two countries, taking advantage of each country’s potentials in a number of sectors, including the agricultural, tourism, investment, communications, information technology and housing spheres.
