Indian diplomat: Trade balance in Egypt's favor for first time since 1994
Egypt-India, Economics, 8/12/2003

An Indian diplomat said that Egyptian-Indian trade in 2002 posted an increase of 45 % as India's exports to Egypt reached 28.5 % and Egyptian imports grew by 63 %, tilting the trade balance in Egypt's favor for the first time since 1994 by $ 46.25 million.

Fishno Prakash, the Political and Economic Minister Plenipotentiary of the Indian embassy in Cairo, in an interview with MENA, said Egypt is an important long-time partner of India in the African continent as the trade agreement between the two countries, effective since 1978, rests on the "most favored nations" principle.

"Total trade exchange reached $ 777 million in 2002, including $ 365.48 million in Indian exports to Egypt and $ 411,73 million in imports vis-a-vis a sum of $ 536, 46 million in 2001, $ 284, 33 million in Indian exports to Egypt and $ 252, 13 million in imports," he said.

Prakash attributed the trade balance's tilting in Egypt's favor to the increase in Egyptian oil exports to India by 57 %, saying India has become Egypt's only trade partner that is enjoying a positive trade balance with it. He said that India ranks second in exports to Egypt after Italy.

India's exports to Egypt comprise iron and steel pipes, frozen boned beef, sesame seeds, engineering equipment, diesel engines, pumps, cars, cotton, jute, textile fibers, plastic, rubber chemicals, medicines, serums, tobacco, paper and wheat, while Egypt's exports include oil products, raw cotton, rock phosphate, coal and marble.

"To give a strong push to economic relations between the two countries, negotiations are underway between the two sides to sign an agreement on preferential trade and prevention of dual taxation as the third round was held last April in New Delhi, in addition to cooperation in the fields of tourism, industry and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)," said Prakash.

Prakash pointed to the interest shown by both sides to cement cooperation in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, renewable energy, satellite technology, remote sensing and nuclear medicine.

Prakash said Indian investments in Egypt are growing; citing a number of Indian and Indian-Egyptian projects in Egypt estimated, according to figures by the Egyptian General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), at about $ 330 million covering 43 investment projects.

India ranks 12th among investors in Egypt in the spheres of carbon black, hotels, River Nile boats, chemicals, sodium phosphate, water reservoirs, vehicle valves, diesel engine assembling, irrigation pumps, trucks, mini-buses and information technology centers.

"The last joint venture was in November in the fields of chemicals and other ventures in the areas of fertilizers, acrylic fiber and rock phosphate," he said.

An Indian consortium has made progress in negotiations currently underway to launch a joint venture in artificial fiber industry with a capital of $ 60 million, in addition to further progress in talks on an Indian company's undertaking of a $ 6- million joint investment project to distribute gas in Cairo and Fayoum, added Prakash.

He said that 125 Egyptians have gone to India within the economic and technical cooperation program during the period from 1986 to 2003.

Previous Stories:
  Egyptian exports to India up by 150 per cent   (4/14/2003)
  Egyptian-Indian cooperation in small ventures   (10/2/2002)
  Indian industrial delegation chief stresses increasing investments with Egypt   (5/25/2002)

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