Egypt, Chile discuss bilateral economic cooperation, activating joint committee

CAIRO – 6 June 2021: Egypt and Chile discussed bilateral economic cooperation and activating a joint committee that can strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

The discussion took place between Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania A. Al-Mashat, and Vice Minister of Trade in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Chile, Rodrigo Yáñez.

This comes within the framework of bilateral meetings held by Al-Mashat during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to discuss common interests between Egypt and its partners.

Al-Mashat and Yáñez discussed various areas of cooperation including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), economic zones, and launching a Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation, encompassing technical preparations that will help in identifying common interests between the two countries.

Relations between Egypt and Chile are governed by an economic cooperation agreement between the two countries that began in 1988, and this is automatically renewed every five years.  This agreement provides for the inauguration of the Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation as well. 

Al-Mashat stressed the keenness of Egypt to strengthen relations with its partners and to consolidate economic cooperation that will allow for the achievement of common interests. The Minister noted that Egypt represents a gateway to Chile’s relations with the African continent in terms of trade and investment; and Chile also represents a gateway for Egypt’s relations with Latin America.

Activating a Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation would open the door to new prospects of cooperation between Egypt and Chile, thus allowing an exchange of expertise and experiences in various fields, while maximizing the relations in several sectors such as industry, agriculture, electricity, maritime transport and fishing.

During the meeting, Al-Mashat also discussed the Pacific Alliance forum that took place in Chile last November, sharing that the topics addressed at the time can be opportunities for cooperation in trade, digital economy, science, technology, innovation, creative industries, and SMEs.

The Ministry of International Cooperation is working to strengthen economic relations between Egypt and multilateral and bilateral development partners through Economic Diplomacy and its three principles: holding Multi-Stakeholder Platforms to bring all relevant entities onto the same decision making table to maximize results and exchange knowledge; developing the first of its kind Official Development Assistance mapping to the UN SDG to track progress in development projects aligned with the sustainability goals; and communicating development stories and Egypt’s 2030 vision through  a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative that puts “People at the Core”, “Projects in Action”, and “Purpose as the Driver”. 

The SPIEF, held from June 2 to 5, is an annual trade and economic event organized in St. Petersburg in Russia since 1997. As a leading global platform for the business community to discuss economic challenges faced by Russia, emerging markets, and other countries, SPIEF brings together  government representatives, heads of state, business leaders, and the creative community to align future global development plans.