Moroccan-Egyptian business council meets in Casablanca
Morocco-Egypt, Economics, 6/9/1999

The Moroccan-Egyptian business council held a meeting in Casablanca on Monday to assess the level of trade exchange between the two countries and identify the obstacles hampering the promotion of these exchanges.

The meeting that was co-chaired by Abderrafii Manjour for the Moroccan side and Yamani Foulfoula for the Egyptian side drafted a number of recommendations that will be submitted to the third session of the Moroccan-Egyptian high joint commission to convene in Rabat next weekend.

The council recommended among others the easing of the visa procedures for businessmen, the increase of the number of flights between the two countries, the lowering of travel fees and air freight costs and the rebating of phoning tariffs.

The council also proposed the easing of capital transfer between the two countries to encourage the setting up of joint investment projects, to create a joint data base and to extend the Moroccan maritime line connecting Casablanca to Ben Ghazi in Libya to the Egyptian port of Alexandria.

The council discussed means of giving momentum to the Moroccan-Egyptian free trade area and to the similar accords concluded by both countries with other Arab countries.

The Moroccan-Egyptian free trade area accord that came into force last April 29 will give a new impetus to trade exchanges and will consolidate economic ties between the two countries.

The ratification instruments of the accord setting up the free trade area will be exchanged during the third session of the joint commission. The accord provides for the suppression, with immediate effect, of all duties on some sixty Moroccan and Egyptian products. Custom duties of more than 25% will be gradually lowered by 5% per year.

Businessmen and economy experts are predicting a huge increase of trade exchanges from the current $30 million to more than $200 million before the end of the current year. These exchanges are expected to reach $300 million before the end of year 2000.

The Moroccan-Egyptian business council set a schedule for the sectoral meetings that will be held during the coming year and that concern the sectors of trade and industry, services, tourism and agriculture.

Foulfoula had earlier said that the council would examine a number of joint projects, mainly the setting up of joint ventures in the realms of fisheries and tourism and the opening of centers that will endeavor to promote the marketing of Moroccan and Egyptian goods in either country and to foster contacts between the two countries' producers.

Part of the preparations for the Moroccan-Egyptian high joint commission that will convene in Rabat over the weekend, the members of the Moroccan-Egyptian joint chamber of commerce held a meeting in Rabat.

The participants in the meeting deplored the low level of inter-Arab trade and the weak volume of Arab investments in Arab countries, underlining that 95% of Arab capital is invested in non-Arab countries.

They called on the private sector to contribute to upgrading the volume of trade exchanges and on governments to standardize customs regulations as well as the fiscal, monetary and banking systems, to push forward economic complementarity and integration between the two countries.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco, Egypt set up $ 100 million construction firm   (6/4/1999)
  Moroccan-Egyptian high joint commission meets in rabat in june   (5/27/1999)
  Morocco and Egypt to foster cooperation in fisheries   (5/17/1999)

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