Govt, businessmen delegation to visit Mercosur countries - min

CAIRO - 18 July 2017: Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said Monday an Egyptian delegation gathering government officials and businessmen would pay a visit to the four member states of the Mercosur in the coming period.

The minister said that the delegation would review available possibilities and opportunities for cooperation between the two sides and lay the foundations for the establishment of balanced trade and investment relations between Egypt and the Mercosur countries.

Kabeel considered the recent ratification by the Argentine parliament of the free trade agreement between Egypt and Mercosur countries an important step toward putting it into force.

The agreement will contribute to expanding the economic relations, concluding trade deals in the interests of all parties as well as opening the way to promote mutual investment flows and achieving trade balance between the member countries, the minister said in his speech to the Egyptian - Argentine Business Forum that was held earlier in the day with the participation of Vice-President of Argentina Gabriela Michetti.

He called for strengthening joint cooperation between Egypt and Argentina as an essential step towards upgrading bilateral economic relations to unprecedented levels.

Kabil said the performance of the Egyptian economy is currently witnessing a remarkable increase, thanks to the package of economic reforms adopted by the Egyptian government during the past two years.

He added that the government has adopted an ambitious program of economic reforms based on four main axes, including strengthening the infrastructure, achieving a financial and legislative reform, in addition to establishing a number of institutions that achieve the government objectives.

The Egyptian people bear the impact of these reforms with unprecedented courage and full awareness of their importance, the minister said.

Mercosur is a sub-regional bloc that gather Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay aiming to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency.