The MoU was signed by Engineer Essam El-Naggar, Chairman of
the General Authority for Export and Import Control, and Engineer Khaled Sofy,
Chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality,
alongside their Tunisian counterparts. The MoU aims to activate the mechanism
for accepting conformity certificates between the two countries.
The signing ceremony was attended by Ambassador Bassem
Hassan, Egyptian Ambassador to Tunisia, and Mohamed El-Maghraby, Egyptian
Commercial Attaché in Tunisia, along with a high-level delegation from the
General Authority for Export and Import Control, including representatives from
the conformity certificate issuance units and the Central Administration for
Exports and Origin. Representing the Tunisian side were Mr. Nafaa Boutini,
Director General of the National Institute for Standardization and Industrial
Property, and his accompanying technical delegation.
The implementation mechanism seeks to operationalize the MoU
through the mutual recognition of conformity certificates issued by the
competent authorities in both countries. It covers non-food industrial goods of
Egyptian or Tunisian origin, as agreed upon by both sides according to shared
technical procedures and regulations. The mechanism is expected to reduce the
time and cost of pre-export inspections, avoid duplication in conformity
procedures, and enhance mutual trust in national regulatory systems and
laboratories. It will also support domestic industries and enable them to
access regional markets more efficiently, in addition to strengthening trade
cooperation and increasing trade volume to $1 billion.
Both sides emphasized that signing the MoU represents a
significant step forward in technical cooperation between the quality and
regulatory bodies of both countries. It contributes to facilitating trade,
enhancing product competitiveness, and advancing government efforts toward
effective economic integration that serves shared interests.
In a related context, the two sides discussed ways to
further enhance trade and investment cooperation between Egypt and Tunisia,
aiming to raise the trade volume to $1 billion in the near future. The talks
also covered boosting Tunisian investments in Egypt, presenting opportunities
for Egyptian companies in the Tunisian market, and identifying promising
sectors for potential joint ventures between the private sectors of both
countries.
The recent growth in trade between Egypt and Tunisia was
also highlighted, with bilateral trade reaching approximately $434.5 million in
2024, representing a growth rate of 15.4%.