Arab Finance: Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Mohamed Farid Saleh met the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Wamkele Mene, in Washington to discuss ways to maximize the benefits of the continental trade pact and deepen cooperation, as the country seeks to boost exports and localize industry, as per a statement.
Farid stressed the importance of the AfCFTA pact as a key tool for strengthening economic integration across Africa, noting the need to accelerate its implementation to deliver tangible results in trade and investment.
He also emphasized that Egypt’s vision for cooperation with African countries is based on linking trade with export-oriented investment, to strengthen regional value chains, support industrialization efforts, and address economic challenges, particularly foreign currency shortages facing a number of African countries.
For his part, Mene praised Egypt’s role under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in supporting the continental negotiations process and welcomed progress made on several technical files, particularly rules of origin and certain productive sectors.
He also expressed the secretariat’s interest in expanding cooperation with Egypt in the coming period to speed up the implementation of the agreement and enhance its benefits for member states.
The two sides discussed preparations for the ministry’s participation in the African Union’s coordination meeting due to be held in New Alamein City. They also mulled over a proposal by the minister to establish a joint working group to organize a high-level business forum on the sidelines of the meetings.
The proposed forum would aim to attract major investors and showcase promising investment opportunities in Egypt and across the African continent.
The meeting also covered the importance of adopting a unified African position in international forums, with the AfCFTA secretariat providing technical and legal support to member states on trade defense issues, including anti-dumping and safeguard measures, particularly within the framework of the World Trade Organization.
Such support would strengthen Africa’s negotiating position vis-à-vis major economic blocs, the two sides said.
