The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry announced that the Egypt is exploring the possibility of negotiations regarding the establishment of a free trade zone between Egypt and the countries of the Customs Union, which include Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. These announcements come in light of Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry and Investment Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour's visit to Moscow to attend the Egyptian-Russian official joint committee meetings. The meetings will take place between 23 and 26 March. The Egyptian minister will head the Egyptian side of the negotiations while Russian Minister of Agriculture Nikolay Vasilyevich Fyodorov will head the Russian side. The ministerial statement cited Abdel Nour as saying that during the committee meetings, "a number of cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding between the Egyptian authorities and their Russian counterparts will be signed." The minister added that the meeting will tackle the possibility of signing long-term contracts regarding the supply of Russian wheat to Egypt. Last week, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) purchased 60,000 tons from Russia with an average price of $312 per ton. Earlier in march, the GASC imported 235,000 tons with an average price of $292.50 per ton.
