Rasheed in Washington for talks on FTA

US Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Zoelick said that his country appreciated the positive steps recently taken by the Egyptian government towards economic reform.

The US official added that such reforms would help push forward the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks between his country and Egypt. Zoelick's remarks came during a meeting with Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry Rasheed Mohamed Rasheed, who is currently visiting Washington.

For his part, the minister highlighted the announcement of commencing FTA talks between the two countries.

Rasheed underlined the necessity of cooperation between Egypt and the US with its various mechanisms including FTA and Qualified Industrial Zones (QUIZ).

Sources at the Egyptian delegation accompanying Rasheed said the minister discussed the recent reform measures adopted by the Egyptian government to reach an understanding on QUIZ areas in Egypt and the guarantees required by Cairo on that score.

The minister briefed a host of executive managers of US mega companies, officials and researchers from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and other research centers on the recent reforms adopted by the Egyptian government in the light of the economic reform program, said the sources.

Rasheed answered a number of questions on the role of Egypt in the World Trade Organization (WTO), protecting intellectual property rights and the government efforts to lure more foreign direct investments.