Nevine Gamea, Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry and CEO of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA), has said the country has broad ambitions for economic and investment cooperation with Africa. Gamea pointed out that President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has issued directives to open all economic files and share Egypt's capabilities and experiences to advance joint African action to broader horizons. This aims to achieve tangible returns from the reality of the actual needs of African countries and peoples in all areas of economic and social development, whilst achieving economic integration. In addition, Egypt aims to develop rapid plans to increase intra-regional trade, and benefit from Africa's resources to reach sustainable development for all countries in the continent. Gamea said that her recent visits to South Sudan and Senegal included efforts on many important economic files, including supporting the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector. Also on the agenda during her trip were discussions on the development of joint work mechanisms between Egypt and the two countries. This includes participating in exchanging experiences between the three countries in the field of supporting the small enterprises sector. This is deemed one of the most important pillars of achieving sustainable economic development, given Egypt's ability to provide dense job opportunities, in addition to expanding them using the abundant natural resources available in Africa. Gamea said that increasing trade exchange between Egypt, South Sudan, and Senegal would represent a good outlet for marketing the products of small projects. Moreover, it would allow project owners to identify the market needs in these countries and work to develop their products and provide new products that suit the needs of these markets. The minister added that coordination will take place between MSMEDA and other similar agencies in South Sudan and Senegal to develop expertise. This is especially in the field of various financing mechanisms that suit the needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Alongside this, they would see the necessary technical support shared, including training and marketing, to help these projects succeed and continue. Gamea noted that MSMEDA will work to expand the participation of small business owners in exhibitions that will be organised periodically, in coordination with South Sudan and Senegal. This is in addition to creating a permanent exhibition in the Egyptian conference centre, which will be established in South Sudan's capital, Juba, to meet the needs of South Sudan of Egyptian goods and products. It is noteworthy that MSMEDA has participated in the "Made in Egypt" exhibition in Juba, South Sudan, which saw hundreds of distinguished products from project owners funded by the Agency. These projects are specialised in traditional and handicraft products, for which Egypt is famous in world markets.
