US ready to offer financial assistance to contain September's adverse impacts
Egypt-USA, Economics, 12/11/2001

US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Alan Larson reaffirmed yesterday the US administration's readiness to offer financial support to Egypt to help the Egyptian economy contain the adverse impacts of the Sept 11 events as well as back underway economic reforms in the country.

Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali held talks with Larson on trade and economic relations.

Talks were attended by US Ambassador to Egypt David Welch and Larson's accompanying delegation.

Both parties noted that the Egyptian-US measures taken to overcome the negative impacts of the recent terrorist attacks on the US were aimed at furthering exports, stabilizing exchange markets and continuing free trade programmes.

Ghali, on his part, said the arrangements for a free trade zone between Egypt and the US have also come high on the agenda of talks.

Ghali noted that he agrees with Larson that such an agreement would further trade and investment relations between Washington and Cairo.

The minister recalled similar agreements signed with Canada and Mexico as part of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Ghali said talks dwelt on the outcome of the fourth World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference, recently held in Doha, and the necessity of pursuing bilateral and multilateral consultations on several issues, including negotiations in sectors of agriculture, health, services and information technology (IT).

Egypt should also take part in multilateral negotiations in the fields of exports development and luring world investments, according to Ghali.

Both parties also underlined the importance of crystallizing negotiable stances of WTO member states as regards the topics under discussions, Ghali said.

Such stances would be clarified via WTO member states' chief delegates in Geneva and the upcoming world economic conference, to be held in Davos in early 2002, he added.

Previous Stories:
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