CAIRO: "We firmly believe that there needs to be more cooperation between SMEs in both countries [Egypt and France] and in the region as a whole, Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid said Sunday. Rachid and French Minister of Foreign Trade Anne-Marie Idrac outlined plans for enhanced bilateral trade cooperation between their two countries at a press conference Sunday. The ministers' statements to the press followed trade talks between French and Egyptian delegations that focused on expanding cooperation between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt and France. They also spoke of diversifying the sectors involved in bilateral trade between the two countries and developing coordination with other Mediterranean nations along the lines of the Euro-Med Agreement. Rachid noted the ample opportunities for further cooperation between SMEs in the two countries, and announced the Mediterranean Forum on the Development of Enterprises (Med-Allia) conference to be held in Cairo in December. The forum will bring together representatives from over 400 French companies, 300 Egyptian businesses and hundreds of Mediterranean enterprises to identify opportunities for partnership between SMEs. Currently, SMEs represent only 25 percent of bilateral trade between France and Egypt. This week's talks built upon a long history of economic cooperation between the two countries, minister Idrac said. "Egypt and France have a long history of cooperation. France was one of the first countries to invest in Egypt and there are many French companies in Egypt today. "We also enjoy high volumes of trade with Egypt, and this past year saw overall trade cooperation between France and Egypt increase by 7 percent, she said. Idrac also stated that Egyptian exports to France grew faster than French exports to Egypt in the past year, an indication, she said, of the "dynamic nature of Egypt's economy. Bilateral trade between Egypt and France reached ?2.13 billion in 2008 with Egyptian imports from France reaching ?1.21 billion, and Egyptian exports to France reaching ?927 million. Total French investments in Egypt reached LE 7.3 billion in 2008, making France the third-largest European country investing in Egypt. In April, French and Egyptian representatives met in Alexandria to announce private-funding schemes for projects to be implemented as part of the Union for the Mediterranean, which has been co-chaired by Egypt and France for the past six months.. The two ministers also discussed the effects of the international financial crisis during their meetings, and assessed the effects of the crisis on trade in the Mediterranean region and opportunities for expansion of bilateral trade. Idrac emphasized however that the fallout from the economic crisis would not impact France's investments in Egypt, particularly the French-financed phase three of the Cairo Metro, which Rachid also confirmed is proceeding as planned. Minister Rachid will travel to Paris at the end of the week for an official Union of the Mediterranean ministerial meeting. Ministers of trade from Mediterranean nations will discuss environmentally friendly business practices and opportunities for expanding trade cooperation. Minister Idrac stated her hope that the talks would provide a forum for further cooperation under the auspices of the Euro-Med agreement. Both ministers emphasized their commitment to working to enhance trade cooperation between the two countries into the future. "There is a strong conviction in both France and Egypt that closer economic cooperation between countries in the Mediterranean region will result is better economic growth for all countries. We have the capability to complement one another and to forge strong cooperation to drive development, economic growth and job creation as a whole, said Rachid. Idrac expressed hope that the two countries could expand cooperation to a variety of different sectors. "I'm talking about expanding cooperation to a large variety of sectors: agriculture, consumer goods, tourism, trade, health, telecom, energy and construction. I want to affirm our commitment to this goal of increasing cooperation with Egypt, she said.
