Egypt's Council of Ministers has adopted a new agricultural strategy aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation with states of the Nile Basin in the field of agricultural commerce in hopes of mutually enhancing agricultural production. According to Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Amin Abaza, 13 new points of cooperation with Ethiopia have already been approved by the council and are currently being implemented. Abaza explained that the new strategy would focus on the promotion of Egyptian private-sector investment in Ethiopia and on cooperation between the Egyptian and Ethiopian private sectors in the fields of agriculture and aquaculture. In a statement issued Thursday, the minister said the new plan would also be based on the import of cattle from Nile Basin states, along with agricultural products such as short-staple cotton, lentils, coffee and oilseed. Abaza went on to emphasize the strategic importance of Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan to Egyptian national interests. He also asserted that cooperation between Egypt and Ethiopia would allow the latter to better utilize its water and other natural resources and develop its agricultural sector. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
