Trade exchange between Egypt, Switzerland hits $960M in 2020

CAIRO – 27 January 2021: Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea met with Swiss Ambassador Paul Garnier Wednesday to map a vision on cooperation in the sectors of trade and investment.

The minister said that Egypt is eager to activate the agreement it had signed to join the International Federation of Technical Analysts (IFTA) in order to expand its agricultural and food exports. IFTA is an international non-profit organization; in which, Switzerland is member. The organization has 23 member states.  

A Swiss delegation paid Egypt a visit last year to examine chances of creating a platform for Swiss investors to get acquainted with investment opportunities in Egypt.

Minister Gamea expressed desire to benefit from Switzerland's experience in the SME's sector for it composes 99 percent of businesses in the European country.

In 2020, the size of trade exchange between both countries hit $960 million. Egypt targets to increase certain exports to Switzerland. Those are agricultural goods, food, textiles, garments, plastic, chemicals, aromatic oils, and medicinal plants.

Switzerland ranks 15th among countries investing in Egypt as the total value of 433 Swiss companies' capital in the Egyptian market is $2.179 billion.

The minister asserted the necessity of achieving equilibrium in the trade balance between Egypt and IFTA countries. Hence, she suggested holding a series of meetings to introduce Egyptian investors to the exports' terms of IFTA countries, and introduce Swiss investors to the competitive advantage of Egyptian products. On the sidelines, investors of both countries can meet and examine partnerships.  

The Swiss ambassador underlined the importance of Egypt for it represents a doorway to African states for Swiss products in addition to being a large market.