Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen has expressed his country's keenness on promoting economic trade with Egypt as the biggest trade partner for Finland in the Middle East and the largest consumer market in the Middle East.

During an Egyptian-Finnish business forum Tuesday organized by the Federation Of Egyptian Chambers Of Commerce (FEDCOC) to mark over 100 years of Egyptian-Finnish economic relations, he said the trade volume between the two countries is increasing.

He said a delegation of 20 Finnish companies working in construction, information technology, waste recycling and energy is visiting Egypt now to discuss cooperation with Egypt and establishing joint projects.

For his part, Ahmed al Wakil, the FEDCOC chairman, said the Finnish companies have good opportunities to invest in Egypt in various domains, pointing out that Egypt backs free economy and encourages private sector to play a role in developing the country's economy.

Earlier, Egypt's trade and industry minister Tareq Qabil, said Cairo was acting to expand its economic cooperation with Finland.

Cairo is working to increase inter-trade and joint investments with Helsinki, said minister plenipotentiary Ali el Leithi in a speech delivered on behalf of Qabil during the Egyptian-Finnish business forum Tuesday. 

Leithi put the current volume of trade exchange between the two countries at 400 million euros, believing that figure does not reflect ambitions of both sides to increase inter-trade.

Source: MENA