As part of the stay of the working group of Uzbekistan in the Arab Republic of Egypt, on February 19 this year, a series of meetings were held in Cairo with the heads of key ministries and departments of Egypt, during which the prospects for increasing bilateral cooperation in priority sectors were discussed, the MIIT press service reported.
Thus, at the meeting with Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Saleh, specific steps were discussed to deepen cooperation in trade, economic and investment areas. The parties agreed on a number of practical measures to create a joint Industrial Cooperation and Distribution Center in Port Said, develop and sign an Agreement on Preferential Trade, establish a joint Business Council and hold its first meeting in the second half of 2023 in Tashkent.
An agreement was reached with the Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat to hold the 7th meeting of the Uzbek-Egyptian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific and Technical Cooperation in September this year in the capital of Uzbekistan, as well as to develop and approve the Roadmap in a short time to deepen cooperation in the field of industrial cooperation.
During the conversation with the chairman of Air Cairo airline Hussein Sherif, the possibilities of expanding the geography and increasing the number of direct flights between Uzbekistan and Egypt were discussed. The Egyptian side expressed its readiness to launch regular flights on the “Cairo-Tashkent-Cairo” route in the near future and announced the company’s intentions to increase the number of flights to 14 per week, including to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Plans to expand investment cooperation and implement joint projects were discussed with the Director General of the Agency for Investments and Free Economic Zones of Egypt Hossam Heyba. The parties noted the enormous potential for further comprehensive development of bilateral partnership and agreed to take comprehensive measures to assist companies in both countries to enter national markets.
On the same day, an Uzbek-Egyptian business forum was held, which was attended by about 200 representatives of leading companies from both countries, including Egyptian companies such as Orascom construction, Kandil Steel Group, Metco, ZAS, Giza Cable Industries, Shoura Chemicals, Polyee Plast, Solarsol EG and others. As part of the event, a number of investment agreements and trade contracts were signed, which also provide for the creation of Uzbek textile enterprises in Port Said for subsequent export to Africa and the Middle East.