Eman Youssef reviews French Foreign Trade Minister François Loos's high-profile Cairo mission France is Egypt's fourth largest exporter and fifth-ranking foreign investor. With 65 French companies currently operating in Egypt, trade relations between the two nations is as significant today as it has been historically. In fact, according to French Foreign Trade Minister François Loos, economic ties between France and Egypt have been steadily increasing over the past few years. Loos was in Cairo recently, meeting with Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieddin, Finance Minister Youssef Boutros- Ghali, Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Rashid, and Transportation Minister Essam Sharaf. Loos's busy, two-day visit was the first by a high-level French official since the new cabinet was formed. One of the tour's primary goals was setting up joint-venture export projects within Egypt that would benefit both countries. "Trade between Egypt and France is flourishing," Rashid told Al-Ahram Weekly, "but it is mostly going in one direction." Bilateral trade between the two countries was tilted in France's favour to the tune of 300 million euros in 2003; Egyptian exports to France were worth 150 million euros, while imports from France amounted at 450 million euros. According to Rashid, some of the initiatives being discussed to help rectify this situation include Egypt obtaining greater access to the French gas market. With such moves, Rashid believes Egypt could easily double its exports to France. Egyptian exports to France currently include petroleum, oil, coke coal, cotton and yarns, industrial and intermediate products, as well as agricultural commodities. Imports from France, meanwhile, include electrical equipment, machines and spare parts, wheat, chemical products, airplanes, cars, iron and steel, and medical and optical devices. Loos also discussed exporting Egyptian natural gas to France; beginning May 2005, he said, Gaz de France would be buying 20 per cent of Egypt's annual gas production. Many other French companies were also looking into either establishing, or expanding, their presence in Egypt, the minister said. "France is one of Egypt's major commercial partners," Loos said, emphasising that in the communications sector, for instance, France Telecom was working on a project to set up mobile phone networks and public payphones across Egypt. Another example of France's presence, Rashid told the Weekly, were the 640 million tonnes of cereals imported from France in 2003. The idea that Egypt could also become a centre for exporting French products to African countries, said Romaric Roignan, press counsellor at the French embassy in Cairo, was also discussed. Rashid told the Weekly that boosting the Euro- Med partnership also came up. The agreement brings together the 15 European Union member states and the 12 states of the South and East of Mediterranean region (MENA) -- including Egypt -- with an aim towards establishing an economic and financial partnership leading to the institution of a free trade zone by 2010.
