EGYPT – Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan is optimistic that trade between Indonesia and Egypt will increase rapidly.
This was said when Hasan and the Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service-Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt Yahya El-Wathik Bellah officially agreed on efforts to increase bilateral trade towards the Indonesia-Egypt Free Trade Agreement.
“There is a long relationship of cooperation, brotherhood, and history between Indonesia and Egypt – it has happened long before Indonesia’s independence. For this reason, we all agree and support the improvement of bilateral trade relations in a better direction, towards the Indonesia-Egypt Free Trade Agreement,” he said on Thursday (1/8).
Following the Minister of Trade’s meeting with the Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt, the First Meeting of the Indonesia-Egypt Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held at the Ministry of Trade office in Jakarta.
A number of officials attended the meeting, including the Director General of International Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, who led the Indonesian delegation accompanied by the Indonesian Ambassador to Egypt, Lutfi Rauf.
In addition, Trade Attache M. Syahran Bhakti and Economic Function Executive of the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo Rifki Rustam Arsyad were also present. The Egyptian delegation was led by Yahya El-Wathik Bellah who was accompanied by Commercial Attache Nevein El Nahrawi, Trade Attaché of the Egyptian Embassy in Jakarta Wael Samir, and diplomats of the Egyptian Embassy Osama Hamdy and Islam Goher.
The meeting discussed several crucial issues that can encourage the growth of trade between the two countries such as promotional activities and exchange of trade information, cooperation in the development of small and medium enterprises, cooperation in the field of standardization, activation of the Indonesia-Egypt business forum, medical tourism, as well as other fields agreed by the two countries, including the Trade Reciprocity scheme transaction.
Another important issue discussed by the two countries was the plan to establish a Free Trade Agreement between Indonesia and Egypt.
“We fully support the discussion towards an Indonesia-Egypt Free Trade Agreement. Indonesia is a strategic business partner and an elder brother to Egypt. Indonesian products are industrial support products for Egypt. Indonesia can take advantage of the facilities and ease of investment in Egypt, open business and investment opportunities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone owned by Egypt,” explained Yahya El-Wathik Bellah.
Trade Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo Syahran Bhakti said that the trade trend between Indonesia and Egypt in the last five years (2019-2023) showed a positive trend of 8.65 per cent with a value of USD 1.51 billion in 2023.
With this trade trend, it is expected that the total trade between Indonesia and Egypt in the next five years can reach USD 3 billion.
Furthermore, Syahran revealed that the total value of Indonesia’s exports to Egypt in January-May 2024 reached USD 492 million, while Indonesia’s imports from Egypt amounted to USD 77.5 million.
Indonesia’s main products exported to Egypt include palm oil and its derivatives, coffee beans, spices, coconut, cocoa powder, fishery and seafood products, textile yarn, wood products, vehicle tyres, passenger vehicles and other potential products.
