Trade exchange between Egypt, Tunisia amounted to $330 million in 2021: Bouden

CAIRO – 12 May 2022: Trade exchange between Egypt and Tunisia amounted to $330 million last year and investments reached $580 million, Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden said on Thursday.

Bouden made the statements in a speech during the Egyptian-Tunisian economic forum held on the sidelines of the 17th session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Joint Higher Committee held in Tunisia and co-chaired by the prime ministers of both countries on 12-13 May.

During her speech, Bouden said the joint committee affirms the importance of the bilateral relations between the two countries, calling for boosting the trade exchange between the two countries.

For his part, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli affirmed Egypt’s full support to the government, people, and leadership of Tunisia, noting that the joint economic forum between the two countries come amid unprecedented global crises.

Madbouli affirmed that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis negatively affected the global economy, noting that inflation has become a clear danger to many countries.

He added that Egypt has developed the business climate, shedding light to the economic cooperation between Egypt and Tunisia. "What we have achieved economically is important and even inspiring," he added.

Madbouli headed Thursday to Tunisia to co-chair the meetings of the supreme committee, which will tackle cooperation in the sectors of trade, petroleum, electricity, energy, tertiary education, pre-university education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, housing, staples, finance, and transport.

The Cabinet noted in the press statement that 16 sessions of the committee had been held, resulting in a total of 135 agreements and cooperation protocols. The last of those took place in 2017, while the follow-up ministerial committee convened a year later.

The supreme committee consists of a number of technical committees specialized in the sectors of infrastructure, logistics, urban transport, railways, youth affairs, trade, and manufacturing.

The statement revealed that the preparatory meetings of the 17th session of the Egyptian-Tunisian Supreme Committee had kicked off two days ago in the Tunisian capital.