CAIRO: The United States embassy in Cairo said yesterday that it was not involved in any negotiations with Egypt and Israel to reduce the Israeli component in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement. Al-Ahram newspaper had reported that the US Ambassador to Cairo said negotiations were currently underway to reduce the Israeli input from 11.7 percent to 8 percent. However, the embassy denied this. The US is Egypt's largest bilateral trading partner, with bilateral trade hitting a record $6.3 billion by the end of 2006. Last year, US exports to Egypt increased by 30 percent while Egyptian exports to the US increased by 15 percent. "Specifically, the QIZ exports have jumped tremendously, and we are looking at almost close to $600 million in exports from the QIZ to the US, Amer Kayani, counselor for commercial affairs at the US embassy, previously told Daily News Egypt. US exports to Egypt soared to $4.1 billion in 2006, up from $3.16 billion in 2005; while Egyptian exports amounted to $2.2 billion. The US tops the list of countries investing in Egypt. It is the largest petroleum and second largest non-petroleum foreign direct investor in the country. By the end of 2006, US total investment in Egypt crossed the $5.57 billion mark, constituting 10.8 percent of US foreign direct investment in the entire Middle East and North Africa region. Seeking to further enhance bilateral trade and investment flows between both countries, the embassy will organize the "Made in the USA exhibition and fair, the largest of its kind in the region, next January in Cairo.
