Egyptian economic delegation heads to Turkey

An Egyptian commercial delegation will head to Turkey during May for an official visit to resume discussions of progress reached regarding establishing a free trade zone with Turkey, which concerns of learning about investment opportunities in Egypt, especially in the Toshka project.

An Egyptian economic source said today that developing relations between the two countries enable them to play a main role in the area's pivots of stability and in supporting its economic and social progress as two regional powers in the Middle East.

The source also said this visit is to learn about specific sector of cooperation, such as adopting a plan to achieve a balance of the interests of both countries, clarifying that among the aspects toward which Egypt and Turkey showed concern is signing an understanding note between the two bodies responsible for small and medium-sized industries as the two sides will review in this context the successful experiment of the Social Fund for Development in Egypt.

The source also stated that the Egyptian side showed relief over the activity of the Egyptian - Turkish business council, as it has already increased the volume of trade by 15% since 1993.

The two sides hope that this increases the average trade agreed upon, which is $1 billion annually.