Egyptian Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil is heading to Geneva, Switzerland with an Egyptian delegation to participate in meetings to review the trade policy of Egypt, which is held periodically for all member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The meetings are scheduled to be held between 20 and 22 February 2018 at the headquarters of the WTO with the participation of representatives of all the 164 WTO member countries. The minister said that the review comes within the framework of Egypt's obligations as a member state of the WTO. It aims at enhancing the principle of transparency and giving the opportunity to review the most important economic reforms, trade policies, and their impact on the global trade movement. Kabil pointed out the importance of this review, which comes 13 years after the last review of Egypt's trade policy in 2005. He noted that the review sends positive messages to international economic organisations and Egypt's trading partners on the recovery of the Egyptian economy and the Egyptian government's keenness to meet its international obligations. The preparation of the trade policy review of Egypt took nearly a year and a half, during which the WTO secretariat visited Egypt twice and held meetings with all concerned ministries and government agencies, according to Kabil. The minister praised the constructive efforts and fruitful cooperation between the various government agencies that contributed to the provision of data and the preparation of the required reports under the review procedures to ensure the quality of the reports in a manner that reflects the recent achievements and reforms in Egypt. The first day of the fourth review of Egypt's trade policy is scheduled to review the most important features of economic performance and highlight the reforms and measures adopted by the government to push the economy and improve the investment environment. Egypt will also present its development strategies and future plans, in addition to the impact of these strategies on the trade exchange movement and the Egyptian trade balance. The second day includes providing an opportunity for member states to direct their inquiries and comments on these subjects to the Egyptian delegation. Egypt was one of the founding countries of the WTO in 1994.
