Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid said the ministry is working to directly link investment opportunities in Egypt with African markets in a way that attracts regional and international investment and strengthens economic and trade integration across the African continent.
During a meeting Tuesday with Vice President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Haytham el-Maayergi, the minister said the State continues to develop its investment services and facilitate cross-border trade procedures, while expanding digitalisation and simplifying processes, supporting the business environment and advancing plans to expand into African markets, referring to promising investment opportunities in industry, tourism, construction, and mining.
The meeting discussed ways to enhance investment and trade integration between Egypt and African countries through innovative financing tools to support exporters and investors, as well as leveraging the African payment and settlement platform to facilitate transactions and reduce reliance on foreign currencies. It also highlighted efforts to strengthen Egypt’s position as a continental re-export hub.
For his part Maayergi affirmed the Bank’s keenness on strengthening cooperation with Egypt in the fields of financing and intra-African trade.
Egypt is a key strategic partner in African economic integration, given its strong infrastructure, strategic geographic location, and advances in digitalisation and financial services, he said.
Maayergi also said the Bank is working to support an initiative aimed at placing Egypt as a continental re-export hub by leveraging the network of special economic zones, free zones and Egypt’s port logistics infrastructure to serve trade flows between Africa Asia, and Europe. He also proposed launching a joint program with the ministry and the Egyptian Export Council (EEC) to accredit Egyptian trade export companies to support access to African markets.
