Egypt seeks stronger trade with the USA

Egyptian Minister of Trade and Supply Ahmed Goweili, who will visit the United States on Wednesday as part of an economic delegation preparing for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's visit to the US, said the economic portion of President Mubarak's US agenda will focus on promoting bilateral economic, investment and trade ties.

"There will also be intensive discussions on the possibility of establishing a free trade zone between the two countries; means of boosting Egyptian exports to the US markets and increasing it to reach $1 billion by the advent of the year 2000 activating Egyptian-US partnership and promoting the flow of US investments into the country," Goweili told the Middle East News Agency (MENA) yesterday.

"The first element is commerce, as the United States is considered the biggest and most important trade partners with Egypt," Goweili said.

He added, "As for the Egyptian exports, the United States is considered a main market for the Egyptian goods." Goweili told MENA that US direct investments in Egypt are estimated at $2 billion, 23% of total regional direct investment by the US.

He concluded, "The third element it the partnership between Egypt and the United States through Mubarak-Al Gore Initiative, which aims mainly at developing bilateral cooperation in all fields"