CAIRO, Aug 12, 2018 - Egypt is seeking to increase Tunisian investments, which amounted to $802 million in 2018, through establishing a coordination council on investment co-operation to include businessmen and investors from the two countries, Minister of Investment and International Co-operation Dr Sahar Nasr said on Sunday. The minister was speaking during a meeting of the follow-up committee affiliated to the Higher Egyptian-Tunisian Committee, which was attended by Tunisia's Trade Minister Omar al-Bahi, Egypt's Minister of Industry and Trade Amr Nassar, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Mohsen Adel and senior investment officials. The meeting is part of preparations for the convening of the joint higher committee co-chaired by Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli and his Tunisian counterpart Youssef Chahed, due to be held at the end of the year. Minister Nasr said the coordination council would help create joint investment opportunities especially in the sectors of exploration, real estate, tourism and financial services. She said it was important to boost relations by taking measures to remove any obstacles to achieving the council's goals. Minister Nasr congratulated the Tunisian side for joining the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). She invited the Tunisian trade minister to take part in the annual African Forum (Africa 2018) to be held in December in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. The Tunisian minister confirmed his country's keenness on promoting economic relations and on encouraging Tunisian businessmen to invest in the Egyptian market. He said the meeting had provided a good opportunity for reviewing the achievements of the Higher Egyptian-Tunisian Committee. The Tunisian minister called for a doubling of efforts to increase the volume of trade between the two countries. At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to organise a joint investment week to motivate both countries' businessmen to exchange information on available investment opportunities and recent amendments to facilitate the establishment of investment projects. The follow-up committee recommended activating the memorandums of understanding signed by the two countries in the fields of agriculture, fishing, electricity, renewable energy, gas, communication, tourism, information technology and culture. The two countries also agreed on boosting trade and removing all the challenges facing the flow of trade and investment to achieve a quantum leap in the level of trade in the interests of both countries. Minister Nassar said that the meeting had targeted coordinated action by the governments of both countries to facilitate trade, activate the role of the private sector and benefit from the resources of both countries to achieve integrated and effective economic partnerships. "Relations between Egypt and Tunisia have made great progress, with the volume of trade reaching worth $214 million in the first half of 2018,"Minister Nassar said. "Both sides agreed to activate the role of the Egyptian-Tunisian business council and to increase the exchange of visits by businessmen," he said. An agreement was reached to conclude a co-operation protocol between the Egyptian technological centre and the Tunisian technical centres in the sectors of food, agriculture, leather products, footwear, textiles, construction materials, furniture, packing and in the chemical and engineering industries, Nassar said. The Tunisian Minister said that his visit to Egypt reflected the keenness of the Tunisian government on boosting trade and economic ties with Egypt. He praised the coordination between officials of the Egyptian and Tunisian trade ministries in eliminating any obstacles facing the flow of trade flow between the two countries. He said, "The Tunisian government is working on increasing Tunisian exports to the Egyptian market."
