CAIRO, July 6, 2018 (MENA) – Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar discussed with Hungarian State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Levente Magyar the future of trade, industrial and investment cooperation between Cairo and Budapest in addition to several economic files of common interest. Nassar said coordination is underway to hold an Egyptian-Hungarian business forum in Cairo, in which a raft of Egyptian companies and more than 50 Hungarian firms will take part, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement Friday. The minister also underscored the importance of activating the role of the Egyptian- Hungarian business council in a way that would help boost trade and economic relations between the two countries. The meeting reviewed the initiative agreed upon during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's participation in the Visegrad Group summit, held in July 2017 in Budapest, Nassar said, noting that the initiative proposes setting up an industrial zone of the alliance in Egypt. Separately, the minister revealed that trade exchange between Egypt and Hungary registered $274 million in 2017, with the Egyptian exports surging 400 percent to $141 million, compared to $28 million in the previous year. He also noted that the Egyptian imports from the European country saw a large decline of 70 percent, standing at $133 million in 2017, down from $227 million in the previous year.
