New Zealand, Egypt to form joint committee to enhance intra-trade

Egyptian trade ministry signed Wednesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with New Zealand to form a joint trade committee.

The purpose of the committee is to enhance economic cooperation system, raise New Zealand-Egypt trade exchange, as well as opening new markets for Egyptian products in New Zealand.

The MoU was inked by Saeed Abdullah -Head of Trade Agreements And Foreign Trade sectors at the ministry-, and New Zealand Ambassador to Cairo, Barney Riley.

Head Abdullah clarified that the MoU comes among ministry’s strategy to open new markets for Egyptian exports, create a climate for trade cooperation, raise Egyptian exports volume, and remove obstacles facing foreign trade flow.

The MoU includes a number of articles that aim at facilitating and enhancing trade exchange between two states, Abdullah noted, adding that the MoU would participate in solving problems facing investments.

The MoU also targets enabling Egyptian and New Zealand private sectors to form trade partnerships besides exchanging trade information.

The Egyptian official emphasised on the importance of holding the first meeting of the committee by the beginning of 2017.

From his side, Ambassador Riley said that the Egyptian market is a destination for New Zealand products since it is the 20th state exporting to New Zealand and the 5th largest importer of New Zealand products.

Moreover, the ambassador pointed out that signing the MoU is an essential step towards removing obstacles facing New Zealand investments in Egypt.