The Egypt-UK trade agreement will come into effect on 31 December to be the framework organising bilateral trade ties after Brexit. The deal is based on the EU-Egypt Association Agreement, UK Trade Envoy to Egypt Sir Jeffery Donaldson said. The UK regards Egypt as the gateway to Africa and a crucial market for the kingdom, which is why the UK has a strong trade team based in Cairo, Donaldson told Ahram Online during a virtual panel held on Thursday as part of Egypt's Week in the UK, an online event that kicked off on Monday. He added that Egypt is a growing market and the UK is seeing its great opportunities, stressing that Egypt is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. “We are keen on expanding our investments in Egypt and to enhance the trade ties between the two countries in the future. The UK is looking forward to expanding its businesses and trade operations outside the European Union after Brexit,” according to Donaldson. He said the UK's current investments in Egypt amount to $5.5 billion, adding that the kingdom is working to implement a number of projects in the Egyptian market that will increase the total of these investments. Donaldson highlighted the importance of the Suez Economic Zone in connecting Egypt with world markets, adding that the UK is looking at the zone as an ideal location to penetrate markets importing to and exporting from the UK. He urged the British business community to exploit the opportunities the zone is providing to expand their businesses and reach the markets they need. Donaldson explained the UK eyes opportunities in the oil and gas, manufacturing, agribusiness, healthcare and education sectors in Egypt, saying that the UK is working to support Egypt's healthcare and education sectors through new projects British businessmen are contributing to. “We are working on attracting Egyptian investments to the UK market as well. We believe in Egypt's future and our trade ties will be stable over the years,” said Donaldson.
