Egyptian and British officials have discussed the future growth of trade and investment ties between the two countries in the wake of Brexit, the British embassy said on Wednesday. According to an embassy press release, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil met with the UK's Minister of Investment Stuart to discuss avoiding any disruption of the trade between both countries when the UK leaves the EU in 2019. The two ministers also discussed the Egyptian economy and UK investments in Egypt. Kabil and Graham praised the agreement reached between the EU and UK at the March European Council by which the UK is to be treated as a member state for the purposes of international agreements during the EU-UK Implementation Period (1 April 2019 to 31 December 2020). The agreement provides further certainty to both British and Egyptian traders that there will be no disruption to the existing trading relationship during the implementation period, the statement said. Both ministers welcomed the significant progress made so far in discussions to ensure continuity of the EU-Egyptian Association Agreement, which facilities almost £3 billion in trade between the two countries. "We appreciate the efforts and cooperation of UK officials with their Egyptian counterparts, to ensure not only continuity and certainty on current Egypt-UK trade arrangements, but that those principles form the basis of a future bilateral Egypt-UK economic relationship under a new, independent UK trade policy," Kabil said. He added that Egypt will "thrive for tighter relationship with the UK while maintaining its excellent relations with the EU and its member states." Stuart said he was delighted to discuss the economic partnership between the UK and Egypt, adding that the trade relationship continues to go from strength to strength, with the total trade between the two countries growing by nearly 6 percent between 2015 and 2016. "As we leave the EU and create a new independent UK trade policy, we will build further on our £3 billion of annual trade with Egypt, and continue to work closely together to champion free trade," he said. The UK is the largest foreign investor in Egypt, with British investments in the country amounting to $30.5 billion since 2011, according to Egypt's State Information Service website. Last week, Kabil said the UK has investments of $5.6 billion through 1,450 companies operating in Egypt.
