Egypt, Sudan to boost economic cooperation in 4 areas

CAIRO – 20 March 2018: Egypt and Sudan will see increased cooperation in four fields: leather, food industries, cable industry, and electricity over the coming period, member of the Sudanese Egyptian Business Council Mohamed Harbi said.

Harbi revealed that Egypt's economic presence will expand throughout Sudan, Ethiopia and Tanzania over the next few years.

Harbi added that Tanzania has asked for Egypt to construct factories on its land, which Tanzania will facilitate.

Harbi expected that the Sudanese Egyptian Business Council would hold a meeting after the visit of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to Egypt, in order to discuss the prospects for expanding investment and trade cooperation between Egypt and Sudan over the next few years.

In light of Egypt's tendency to move towards Africa and operate an industrial zone there, Harbi has anticipated that increased support for economic movements across the African nations will come in the following years.

Statistics showed that Egypt has recorded 273 projects in Sudan, with a total investment of $2.6 billion as of July 2016.

Moreover, trade exchange between Egypt and Sudan left Egypt with a trade surplus of nearly $1 billion.

This is due to the rise of exports from food industries, as well as building materials and textiles industries. On the other hand, Egypt imports live animals, sesame and other products.

President Bashir arrived in Egypt on Monday for a one-day visit to discuss outstanding issues between the two countries, based on the agreement reached at the recent Addis Ababa tripartite summit.

The one-day visit of the Sudanese president also focused on facilitating cooperation across various fields.