Trade and Industry Minister Tareq Qabil said he is currently mulling with the Russian side the terms of establishing a Russian industrial zone in Egypt.

This came at a plenary meeting with Russian First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Gleb Nikitin and a delegation grouping Russian companies operating in the auto, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, energy and steel fields. 

The final agreement on establishing the Russian industrial zone in Egypt will be signed during meetings of the Egyptian-Russian committee, set for Moscow in May, the minister underlined.

Negotiations are underway to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, Qabil said. 

This agreement will allow Egyptian exports to tap new markets in Eastern Europe area, he stressed.

On the sidelines of the joint committee's meetings, the Egyptian-Russian business council will convene to discuss setting up joint ventures between the Egyptian and Russian businessmen, Qabil said.

The volume of trade exchange between the two countries in 2016 amounted to 4.156 billion dollars.

While Russian investments in Egypt till January 2017 reached 62.9 million dollars in 408 projects. Thus, Russia ranked 47th in list of investors in Egypt.

Source: MENA