Egypt Eyes Trade Exchange with Ethiopia Higher to $5bn – Minister

Egypt is seeking to boost the volume of trade exchange with Ethiopia to reach US$5 billion in the coming period, said Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour.

In a keynote speech at the Ethiopian-Egyptian Business Forum that kicked off Sunday in Addis Ababa, Abdel Nour has proposed a plan to establish a free zone in Ethiopia for the Egyptian investments.

The Egyptian official further stressed his country’s willingness to help Ethiopia to become a member state in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as well as assist in developing Ethiopian small and medium-sized enterprises.

Moreover, Minister Abdel Nour has invited his Ethiopian counterpart to head a delegation to visit Egypt by the beginning of 2015 to discuss means of bolstering bilateral economic and trade ties.