The meeting was attended by
several officials from both sides, including Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, Deputy
Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Egyptians Abroad; Abdel Aziz El
Sherif, Minister Plenipotentiary for Trade and Head of the Trade Representation
Authority; Tamer Moustafa, Minister Plenipotentiary for Trade; Mohamed
Abdullah, Minister Plenipotentiary for Trade; Iman Refaat, Head of the Central
Department for World Trade Organization Affairs; and Juma Madani, Head of the
Central Department for Trade Agreements.
From the UAE side, attendees
included Hamad Obaid Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador to Cairo; Mohamed Al Ramsi,
representative of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Authority;
Ayoub Ahli, Director General of Emirates Post; and Waleed Al Khumairi from the
Ministry of Economy and Tourism.
The discussions focused on the
development of bilateral relations, updates on joint cooperation, and
exchanging views on a number of issues of common interest, aiming to strengthen
economic and trade partnerships between the two countries.
El Khatib praised the deep
historical and fraternal ties between Egypt and the UAE and their continuous
development across multiple levels. He explained that the meeting comes as part
of ongoing coordination efforts reflecting both sides’ commitment to achieving
shared interests based on partnership and integration.
He added that the meeting covered
key points including digital trade and trade in services, highlighting the
government’s full support for all efforts to attract investments and improve
the business environment.
El Khatib pointed out that
priority sectors for cooperation in the coming phase include textiles,
engineering, and chemical industries. He stressed the importance of maximizing
available opportunities and proposed initiating practical steps aimed at
achieving tangible results on the ground.
The minister emphasized the
importance of building on technical progress achieved in previous negotiations
between the two countries regarding the draft Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement. He stressed that the next phase requires intensified
joint efforts to finalize negotiations on remaining issues, ensuring a balanced
framework that serves both parties’ interests, enhances investment flows, especially
in high-value-added productive sectors, while maintaining flexible trade rules
to support the competitiveness of the Egyptian and UAE economies.
For his part, the UAE Minister of
Foreign Trade affirmed his country’s commitment to supporting the economic
partnership with Egypt in a way that serves the interests of both nations and
strengthens their regional and global economic competitiveness.
Al Zeyoudi expressed his
anticipation of completing technical discussions in the coming phase, building
on progress achieved, opening new horizons for trade and investment
cooperation, and enhancing private sector participation in both countries
within a framework of transparency and economic integration.