Ministry of Industry and Foreign Trade Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour announced Saturday he will participate in the African Union Ministers of Trade Conference between 3 and 5 December in Ethiopia. At the conference in Addis Ababa, Abdel Nour will highlight the significance of trade and economic cooperation between Egypt and African countries through removing the current obstacles and promoting trade facilities. Abdel Nour added that he will conduct interviews with African trade ministers to increase bilateral cooperation. He said this is his second visit to Ethiopia, which reflects Egypt's desire to develop its economic relation with the African country. Five agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoU) were signed between Egypt and Ethiopia last week, encouraging diplomatic, trade and health cooperation. Last week, Abdel Nour said that a potential Egyptian-Ethiopian industrial zone is being studied. The minister added that the targeted trade volume between both countries is over $5bn, a relatively low figure considering the capabilities of both countries. Between 2004 and 2013, the volume of trade increased by 21%, edging up from $41m to $165m. He added that Egypt's share of the trade is around 77.5%.
