Cairo – The Egyptian Exporters Association, ExpoLink, revealed the preparation and forthcoming publication of a work document containing the vision of the business community on the future of exports from Egypt. The document was prepared by the Federation of Industries, chambers of commerce, as well as Councils and the Exporters Association.
Mohamed Kassem, chairman of ExpoLink, said the association celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary of its creation. He explained the document aims to develop the vision of the private sector of how Egypt can achieve the development of its exports for them to be compatible with the country’s richness and geographic location.
Kassem pointed out that global economic conditions led to the existence of challenges faced by Egypt. On the other hand, these conditions created many opportunities in investment and exports that should be seized by developing serious and urgent strategies with a thinking different from the past’s.
He stressed that in the long and short term, increasing Egyptian commodity exports is an essential pillar to solve the current economic problems of Egypt through the reduction of the country’s foreign debt.
Qassem explained that Egypt’s exports are usually weak and not consistent with its actual capacity. The executive warned about the need for integration between exporters and government authorities during the policy-making phases, which would allow a scientific analysis of the revenue perspectives and cost estimates before the adoption of specific policies.
He pointed out that poorly drafted policies lead to losses that are hard to recover. Qassem also drew attention to the need for drastic changes in the import and export system, including institutional and legislation changes, as well as a sectoral proposal involving the most important changes required for specific sectors.
He pointed out that the country’s goal is to provide a friendly environment and stimulate the private sector to boost investments. The Egyptian warned about the need to create laws by activating the Irada initiative, developing public agencies to reach their real role, in order for them to become service providers instead of economic agencies. He also stressed the importance of facilitating and simplifying the processual system to streamline the resolution of cases and the implementation of the reforms necessary in the industrialization and investment in cooperation with the Industrial Development Authority.
Engineer Shadi El Manzalawi, secretary-general of ExpoLink, said the association established a new working direction for the next period, aligned with the current requirements and the technologic development that help the Egyptian goods break into new markets.
Engineer Ahmed Taha, director of ExpoLink, said that the last period saw 30,000 export opportunities, 5,500 international buyers, as well as 1,604 projects for public companies. Businesspeople in the country participated in around 541 international exhibitions, 70 trade missions were sent out, and around USD 300 million dollars got into the country through Egyptian exports.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) participated in the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the foundation of ExpoLink.
Michael Gama, Regional director of the ABCC in Cairo, said ExpoLink has played a relevant role in promoting Egyptian exports in the past 25 years and contributed to breaking into markets.
Gamal congratulated the board of the association and its members for the silver jubilee. He stressed the existence of an ongoing cooperation between the ABCC and ExpoLink to create export opportunities for Brazil for learning about the Brazilian market and the products that could encounter promising opportunities in this market.
He stressed that there is an agreement between the ABCC and ExpoLink to organize the Egyptian participation in trade missions ansshows, particularly in clothing, medical supplies, wood, chemicals and fertilizers, as the association has members from different sectors.
Translated by Georgette Merkhan and Guilherme Miranda
