Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour announced that Egypt participated in the signing of a multilateral agreement that will help preserve the rights of developing countries. The agreement was signed during the World Trade Organisation's 9th ministerial conference held in Indonesia in December 2013. The minister said that the agreement offers many privileges concerning trade facilitation, mechanisms that help developing countries increase their exporting capabilities and open doors for Small and Medium Enterprises to enter the field of international trade with fewer restrictions. Abdel-Nour said that the volume of inter-regional trade will increase by 4.5%-5% after the agreement helps increase global economic production and the average income of citizens. "Egypt was and still is a major player in the drafting of the global trading system," a ministerial statement said citing Abdel-Nour. Abdel Nour's announcements came during his meeting with various leaders of the country's business unions and organisations. The meeting was attended by several government officials and trade personnel including, Chambers of Commerce Federation Chairman Ahmed El-Wakil, Egyptian Industry Federation Chair Mohamed El-Sewedy, the Egyptian committee of the International Chambers of Commerce as well as Tourism Federation Chairman Elhamy El-Zayat. Ezz El-Arab, the Director of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, also attended the meeting. Abdel-Nour said the conference provided trade the ministries from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Italy, Ireland, the UAE, Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya and India the opportunity to meet.
