Egypt’s exports to Germany hit €717M in H1 2018

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Thu, 20 Sep 2018 - 11:40 GMT

BY

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 - 11:40 GMT

Exports- Creative Commons cia Pixabay

Exports- Creative Commons cia Pixabay

CAIRO – 20 September 2018: Egypt’s exports to Germany marked an increase of 9.5 percent during the first half of 2018, reaching €717 million, compared to €654.6 million during the same period of 2017, according to Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar.

The minister noted that Egypt’s imports from Germany decreased 44 percent during the first six months of 2018 to hit €1.47 billion, compared to €2.63 billion in the same months of 2017.

This came during Nassar’s meeting with a delegation of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, including Head of Development Cooperation for the Middle East, Asia, South America and South Eastern Europe Claudia Warning.

Nassar reviewed with the delegation the future of the bilateral economic relationship and ways to activate joint cooperation programs in the fields of trade, industry and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Nassar referred to the development of the SMEs sector, being on top of the ministry’s priorities during the current period, as it represents the main structure of the Egyptian economy and the biggest sector offering job opportunities to youths and women.

The Trade Ministry seeks to cooperate with the German side in implementing vocational training to youths, which helps in creating qualified workforce capable of dealing with technology and digital equipment.

Nassar pointed out that the ministry is keen to take advantage of the untapped industrial capacities in the factories, and to establish new industrial zones in different provinces.

For her part, Warning said her country attaches great importance to strengthening economic relations with Egypt as it is one of the most important economic and trade partners to Germany in the Middle East region.

She also highlighted the importance of providing government support for all development cooperation projects implemented by Germany in Egypt with the aim of accelerating their pace to achieve the best results as soon as possible.

Warning pointed out that Germany is keen to provide more training and technical support programs in Egypt in the fields of SME development, technical education and vocational training, which will contribute to the development and modernization of the industrial sector in Egypt and will provide more employment opportunities for young people.

On Wednesday, Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr said German investments in Egypt reached $641.4 million through 1,103 companies in the sectors of chemicals, petroleum, telecommunications, gas, car industry, and iron and steel.

Nasr clarified that Germany ranks the 20th in the list of countries investing in Egypt, aiming to upgrade its position to be among the top 10 investing countries.

Trade exchange between Egypt and Germany rose 5 percent in 2017, reaching €5.81 billion, compared to €5.57 billion in 2016, Nassar said earlier.

Total Egyptian investments in Germany recorded $35.5 million in the fields of finance, medicine, furniture, appliances, medical supplies, tourism and trade, the minister added.

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