The Ethiopian-Egyptian Business Forum is set to start tomorrow, Sunday in Addis Ababa. Around 50 Egyptian major companies will take part in the forum, aiming to bolster economic and trade ties with Ethiopia. In this respect, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour stressed the importance of such a forum in reviewing common political and economic files alongside increasing joint investments and industrial cooperation. The forum is also set to highlight investment opportunities in Egyptian market in the coming period, he noted. The Egyptian minister further referred that his country is willing to give its full technical support for the Ethiopian government to help the latter's in becoming World Trade Organisation (WTO)'s state member. He also said the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry recently received a proposal from the Arab Union for Industrial Exports Development so as to hold a trade conference next January in Addis Ababa for a period ranging between 3-7 days. The proposed conference would be for inviting all the Arab and Egyptian companies to get to know the investment opportunities in Ethiopian market. In earlier statement to Amwal Al Ghad, Ayman Eissa – President of the Ethiopian-Egyptian Business Council (EEBC) – said the Forum would be held on the sidelines of the upcoming Ministerial Meetings of the Fourth Session of Joint Committee presided by the foreign ministers of the two countries. The Ministerial Meetings will be on November 3 and 4, aiming to boost bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various sectors, he added. It was agreed with the Ethiopian party to present during the forum, the available investment opportunities in Ethiopia, notably in areas of building and construction, engineering industries, food industries, leather and consulting services, Eissa noted.
