Setting up a free trade zone between Tunisia and Egypt

The Egyptian Minister of Supply and Trade Dr. Ahmed Goweili will sign with his Tunisian counterpart an agreement to establish a free trade zone between the two countries during the month of December which will be applied in January 1998.

The agreement also includes reducing the customs taxes imposed on the commodities exchanged between the two countries by 15% per year to reach a total abrogation. It will also include increasing the volume of the trade exchange to about $300 million by the year 2000.

A branch of Banque Du Cairo will be inaugurated in Tunis to finance the operations of the trade exchange. Setting up joint projects between the businessmen of the two countries is under study.

The Head of the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Union stressed the importance of setting up free trade zones among all the Arab countries. It is worth mentioning that some Tunisian investors will apply to the Egyptian authorities to set up a big investment project in Egypt in the field of spinning and weaving which will provide 3000 job opportunities.