Prime Minister Hisham Kandil visited the Iraqi capital Baghdad this week in order to hold talks with his Iraqi counterpart Nuri Al-Maliki and discuss regional and Arab issues of mutual concern. Kandil was accompanied by the ministers of petroleum and mineral resources, foreign trade and industry, planning and international cooperation, and manpower and immigration, as well as around 60 businessmen and investors. The official delegations from both sides expressed their common commitment to push forward with bilateral cooperation particularly in trade and investment. The average volume of trade between the two countries is now worth some $500 million, and Egypt's participation in the reconstruction process in Iraq was included on the agenda of this week's meetings. Kandil said that Egypt considered Iraq to be a united country with a united people, and he expressed Egypt's readiness to help the Iraqi people in all fields in order to help fulfill the will of the people in both countries. In response, Iraqi officials expressed their welcome to Egyptian companies wanting to work in Iraq as well as to Egyptian labour. “The Iraqi market is open to Egyptian companies,” Al-Maliki said during the meetings. In making this announcement, Al-Maliki helped open the door to Egyptian companies in Iraq, and it is now up to the private sector to take advantage of the cooperation between the two countries. According to Hatem Saleh, minister of industry and foreign trade, the visit had included discussion of visas and visa facilitation for Iraqi businessmen and tourists visiting Egypt. The possibility of lifting the Iraqi import ban on Egyptian dairy products was also among the issues discussed during the visit, and Al-Maliki said at a press conference that Egyptian prisoners held in Iraq would be set free. In a press conference held on Monday, Kandil said that after Egypt's 25 January Revolution, the country was determined to return to its “Arab perimeter” both politically and economically, and that Iraq was at the heart of this policy. He also noted that his visit to his “second home” of Iraq had come at a time when the government was looking to settle a number of agreements that would have positive impacts on both countries and their people. Kandil confirmed that both sides had agreed to coordinate their activities in the fields of petroleum, trade, reconstruction, drinking water, ports and other sectors. The visit ended with the announcement of concrete steps to boost cooperation when Kandil and Al-Maliki approved an agreement to build crude oil pipelines between the two countries and passing through Jordan. Iraqi oil could thus be refined in Egypt into consumable products such as diesel, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas. According to the agreement, Iraq is expected to provide Egypt with four million barrels of crude oil per month. Egypt will benefit from the project as it will guarantee a stable and sustainable source of fuel, and the project revenues would benefit Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, Saleh said. Experts said that the step was a good one and the amount of oil provided would meet Egypt's current needs, even if its application could be difficult. “The project will take not less than five years to be established, and it needs the approval of other countries such as Jordan and Israel,” Amr Hamed, an oil expert, said. The government will also have problems finding the finance needed for such a high-cost pipeline at a time when the Egyptian economy is facing great challenges and serious financial problems, according to Hamed. The Iraqi government has said that it wants to receive payment for any crude oil delivered to Egypt one month following the delivery date, something which would add to Egypt's financial burdens, he said. The full details of the agreement were not announced, but Hamed said he hoped the agreement would stipulate that “exporting crude oil to Egypt is immediate and is carried by Very Large Crude Carriers through the Red Sea and then through SUMED pipelines from the port of Ain Sokna until the new regional pipeline can be laid.” However, he was doubtful whether the agreement could be applied as Iraq's total current production of crude oil is presently between two to three million barrels per month, making it difficult to see how it can supply Egypt with four million barrels. If it can be carried out, the project will have positive impacts on Egypt since it would facilitate crude-oil exports from other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that could also export crude oil to Egypt through extending the pipeline, Hamed said.
