Seminar talks measures to boost Vietnam-Egypt economic cooperation

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt and the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce jointly held a seminar themed “Vietnam-Egypt economic & trade cooperation potential” on December 17, attracting the participation of representatives of Alexandria’s businesses as well as many Egyptian economic experts and advisers.

General view of the seminar. (Photo: VNA)
General view of the seminar. (Photo: VNA)

The event aimed to foster the potentials and strengths of the two countries’ enterprises and strengthen economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt.

At the seminar, local companies showed interest in many Vietnamese items, such as agricultural products (cashew nut, pepper, coffee) and industrial commodities (electronics and computer devices). They also expressed their wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in the areas of sea freight, freight on transit and logistics.

Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy clarified several issues concerning Vietnam’s policies and incentives for Egyptian firms.

Vice President of Alexandria Chamber of Commerce Ahmed Hassan suggested some areas for the two countries to strengthen collaboration, including logistics, aquaculture, agriculture, and garments & textiles. According to him, in recent years, Egypt has developed large-scale infrastructure, including the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZ), to cater for future production and trade cooperation agreements. Not just bilaterally, he recommended Vietnam and Egypt shift towards the tripartite cooperation model, using raw materials and components from Vietnam to manufacture products at SCZ and then exporting them to a third country that has signed a free trade agreement with Egypt.

With Egypt’s globally renowned cotton quality, Egyptian businesses want to increase exports of this commodity to the Vietnamese market, alongside other agricultural products such as fresh fruits, Hassan said, adding that Vietnamese companies can export software and hardware in the fields of information technology and telecommunications, mobile phones and mobile phone components, to Egypt.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong meets with Alexandria Governor Mohammed Taher El-Sherif. (Photo: VNA)

Earlier, within the framework of his working trip in Alexandria, Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt Tran Thanh Cong had a meeting with city governor Mohammed Taher El-Sherif, during which the two sides suggested the formation of a twinning relationship between Alexandria and a Vietnamese locality, strengthening bilateral sea freight cooperation, and increasing trade promotion activities between the two sides.

In addition, the Vietnamese delegation held a working session with the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce to discuss measures to boost two-way trade in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.