France-Egypt trade exchange retreats 1.14%

The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and France declined by 1.14 percent in 2015 to €2.583 billion versus €2.61 billion in 2014, Egyptian Trade Minister Tarek Qabil announced Thursday.

He made these remarks during his meeting with French ambassador in Egypt André Parant to discuss preparations for President François Hollande’s next visit to Egypt.

The decline in mutual trade exchange was due to the 54.33percent drop in Egyptian exports’ value in 2015 as it reached €472.75 million opposed to €1.04 billion in 2014, the minister clarified. Meanwhile, the Egyptian imports increased by 32.9 percent to record €2.1 billion compared to €1.58 billion.

On other side, Parant noted that Hollande’s 2-day visit to Cairo is set to include holding meetings with the Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail in addition to a visit to the Parliament.

Sisi and Hollande are scheduled to discuss many political issues notably the regional ones related to Egypt as well as France and Europe.

Ambassador Parant noted that the two leaders will also discuss mutual relations that developed during the last two years notably in the economic field, the ambassador stated.