More agricultural exports into the EU market THE EUROPEAN Union's Council of Ministers on Saturday confirmed the signing of an agreement with Egypt aimed at greater liberalisation of reciprocal trade in agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products. The decision amends the trade clause in the EU/Egypt Euro-Mediterranean association agreement. Under the agreement, customs duties applicable on the import into the EU of agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products originating in Egypt will be eliminated (unless otherwise specified), as will duties on goods from the EU. Partners' reform package THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC) will make available a package worth 14 million euros within the 2009 annual Action Programme under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and Partnership Instrument. Some 110 million euros of the package will be directed to support reforms of primary healthcare, in particular the transition to the Family Health Care Model, covering the upgrading of health facilities, training and retraining of staff, and accreditation of health units. "This year's programme demonstrates our long-standing commitment to supporting reforms in the health sector for the benefit of the poorest members of society," said EC Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. In addition, 20 million euros will be provided to reinforce the EC's ongoing twinning operations between Egypt and EU member state governments. There are currently 13 ongoing twinning operations and further operations are being prepared. The sectors covered so far include statistics, tourism, postal services, railway safety, water quality, road safety, and telecommunications regulation. The main twinning partners are Austria, France, Italy and Germany. Finally, 10 million euros will be provided for a pilot project that would form the base for a wider rural development strategy for Egypt. The objective is to contribute to poverty reduction and socio-economic development for the rural poor through the improvement of land productivity, and by generating more income and employment opportunities in an environmentally sustainable manner. "We will continue working in close partnership with the people and the government of Egypt to address the priorities jointly agreed in our Action Plan under the ENP," commented Waldner. Business climate makeover A CONFERENCE was held this week to discuss the "Business Climate Development Strategy" to be implemented in Egypt for the first time, designed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and the EU. The strategy aims to support Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries in improving their business climates so as to raise competitiveness and growth rates. An integrated and all-inclusive system will be designed to assess, create and enforce governments' reform policies relevant to the business climate. It also aims to attract investment by accelerating the reform process. The strategy will assess the pros and cons of the existing business climate and identify and prioritise areas for reform. It will also provide technical assistance in designing and implementing reform policies. The work will be implemented in coordination with concerned ministries, donors, international organisations, chambers of commerce, business associations and investors' federations. According to Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieldin, the strategy will tackle investment policies, the development of public and private sector participation, taxation and trade, small- and medium-sized enterprises, investment legislation, regulations against corruption, human development policies, methods of project financing and infrastructure projects. Addressing the conference, Mohieldin pointed out that despite the challenges of the global crisis, Egypt was continuing reforms and procedures aimed at creating an appropriate climate for greater investment. He particularly highlighted the importance of injecting more into infrastructure projects. He believes infrastructure is essential to creating the best climate for greater investment. IBF in Cairo THE 13TH International Business Forum (IBF) was held this week in Egypt, bringing in some 4,000 visitors. The IBF, organised by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MUSIAD) and the Cairo Chamber of Commerce, is an opportunity for businesses to tap into international markets and promotes multilateral cooperation. The IBF is a voluntary based, non-governmental platform for gathering Muslim businesspersons from all over the globe in an effort to stimulate trade, investment and cooperation. It is convened alternatively in Turkey, the country headquarters of the IBF, and in a second country. "This forum is important to enhancing business and investment relations between companies from Islamic countries," said Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Egyptian minister of trade and industry, adding that Egypt believes such interactions between businessmen and companies presented by the IBF to be a driving force in improving business relations between Islamic countries. Rachid also noted the Turkish role in the forum through the participation of some 500 companies. "Meetings between Turkish and Egyptian businessmen, as well as improving bilateral business relations, will reinforce Turkish-Egyptian ties," said Zafer Caglayan, Turkish minister of state for foreign trade at a press conference Monday. He noted that bilateral trade in the past eight months with Egypt increased 40 per cent compared to last year. Rachid pointed out that the free trade agreement with Turkey, which came into force in 2007, has been a key tool for expanding economic cooperation. "The Egyptian and Turkish markets share common characteristics and offer members of the business community investment opportunities, technology transfer facilitation and the possibility of accessing new markets by capitalising on the bilateral and multilateral trade agreements of one another." Trade between Egypt and Turkey reached $2.37 billion in 2008: Egyptian exports to Turkey accounting for $942 million, and imports from Turkey reaching $1.43 billion. The Egypt-Turkey free trade agreement has boosted Egyptian exports to Turkey from $393 million in 2006 to $680 million in 2007. Turkey's total investments in Egypt have reached LE1.2 billion spread across a large number of sectors, including textiles, food productions, ready-made garments and pharmaceuticals.
