Egypt’s trade exchange with India likely to hike by over 128% to reach $8bn

India plans to increase its trade exchange with Egypt by over 128% to reach about $8bn in the next period, in comparison with $3.6bn last year, according to the Indian ambassador to Egypt, Rahul Kulshreshth.

The joint committee will be held in Cairo next year, headed by both countries’ foreign ministers, the ambassador added during a recent press conference . He noted that Egypt implemented major economic reforms which promoted Egypt’s investment climate in addition to the strategic location which encourages companies to inject more investments in Egypt.

“Egypt’s geographic location allows it to be a regional hub for re-exporting to different markets, particularly in Africa and the Arab region,” the ambassador added, noting that Indian investments in Egypt are at $3.3bn through  50 firms in the sectors of textile, chemicals, technology, health care, plastics, automotives, and other key sectors.

Egypt and India are good models for promising economies, he emphasised, explaining that India achieved strong economic growth last year with about 7% GDP growth which was commended by the international institutions in addition to India’s efforts in facilitating the foundation procedures of new firms.

The Egyptian economy achieved 5.5% increase in GDP growth and aims to continue the increasing trend to reach over 6% which promotes opportunities of more collaboration with Egypt, the ambassador stated, noting that the Egyptian market enjoys very large purchasing power which is a key factor of attracting new investments.

“Egypt is also a stable economy now which is very important for investors especially after the economic reforms,” he said.

India and Egypt suffered from the same terrorism challenges and there are continuous meetings to discuss issues of the security files, said the ambassador.

Additionally, Vinod Bahade, first secretary for commerce at the Indian embassy in Egypt, said that Egypt’s trade agreements with most of the African countries allow Indian products in Egypt to access many African markets.

African markets are a priority for India, and it allocated investment financial packages for projects in Africa, including Egypt, in line with Egypt’s presidency of the African Union this year, he added.

Trade exchange between Indian and Africa is at $62bn and this figure is expected to increase in the next period, Bahade declared.

Source: Hagar Omran