Egypt-US free trade zone, discussed

Egypt's Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali Tuesday welcomed the American interest in studying the pros of setting up an Egyptian-American free trade zone.

"Egyptian-American talks will take about a year and a half to reach an agreement on the foundations and elements of this free zone," ghali said.

The US launched many free trade zones with north America (NAFTA), Latin America, the Caribbean area, and South Africa's west desert.

It has also embarked on talks with Jordan to establish a joint free trade zone. A US-Israel free trade zone has been set up for 15 years, the Minister said.

Hence, the US thought that it is high time to upgrade Egypt-US economic and trade relations, Ghali told a symposium on the advantages of setting up a free trade zone.

The symposium, attended by an array of economists, businessmen, and senior officials, is organized by the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies.

US Ambassador in Cairo Daniel Kurtzer said the success of Egypt-US free trade zone project depends mainly on Egypt's development of its institutional entity and economy and ability to provide a competitive edge for Egyptian products; this is the engine of success for any agreement, bilateral, regional or international, he added, an Egyptian statement said.