Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said Egypt attaches great importance to achieving regional economic integration in Africa.
Gamea underlined the importance of: activating joint continental work to achieve industrial and agricultural integration; strengthen intra-community trade; support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and create more employment opportunities.
These contribute to Egypt’s achievement of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the continental level and the 2063 development agenda set by the African Union (AU).
The minister’s remarks were made at a roundtable titled “Africa’s Pursuit for a Greater Role in Global Marketsâ€, held as part of the Forum of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPA).
The five-day event will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, with the participation of heads of investment agencies from 33 African countries, a number of international institutions and a number of ministers, officials and Egyptian and African businessmen.
The session focused on three main areas, including: increasing domestic production in Africa; opportunities for regional cooperation in agriculture and industry; and the means for African agricultural and industrial products to reach world markets in slow-paced global trade.
This is in addition to promoting air cargo to Africa as a means of advancing mutual trade, supply chains and exports.
Gamea said Africa is on the threshold of a new phase of regional integration through the launch and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).
This connects the entire continent in a single free market to overcome the barriers in front of exporters, manufacturers and investors across the continent, through which goods are traded.
The minister said Egypt was ready to share its experiences with African countries in various fields of industrial development. The most important of these is the creation of industrial zones and complexes, offering programs to develop and modernize local industry, and link it to global value chains.
It also includes increasing technical capacity, in order to realize the principle of mutual benefit and mutual benefit.