Written by: Badr Ahmed

The Egyptian-Eritrean Business Forum was held on Saturday, May 16, with the participation of Dr. Badr Abdel-Aty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptians Abroad, Mr. Hagos Gebrehiwet, Economic Advisor to the Eritrean President, Osman Saleh, Eritrean Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in the presence of the Eritrean Minister of Trade and Industry, and with the participation of Dr. Sherif El-Gebaly, Chairman of the African Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, along with a large number of representatives of Egyptian companies and their counterparts from the Eritrean side, in order to discuss ways to enhance economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, and to build on the growing momentum witnessed in bilateral relations.

Egypt and Eritrea discuss expanding investment cooperation at a joint business forum.

Minister Abdel-Aati pointed to President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi’s directives to enhance economic and trade cooperation with Eritrea in all fields in order to achieve the common interests of the two countries, praising the recent visit of the Eritrean President’s economic advisor and the Eritrean Minister of Trade and Industry to Cairo, and the fruitful meetings that were held with the Egyptian side.

He stressed the importance of building on the positive results of that visit, which was reflected in making this visit accompanied by the Minister of Transport and a large number of businessmen and representatives of the Egyptian private sector, in order to maintain the great momentum in bilateral relations and open new horizons for economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister also stressed the keenness to enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially economic, investment, trade, industrial and development fields, most notably transportation, construction, pharmaceutical industries, mining and fisheries, as well as railways and logistics services, in order to support Eritrean national efforts to advance the development process and contribute to achieving the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples.

He pointed to the importance of continuing technical support, capacity building, and training programs to qualify Eritrean personnel in various sectors, as well as supporting the participation of the Egyptian private sector in the Eritrean market and enhancing opportunities for Egyptian exports, which supports economic development efforts and contributes to achieving regional integration.

For his part, the economic advisor to the Eritrean president expressed his country’s appreciation for the momentum in relations with Egypt, stressing the Eritrean side’s keenness to continue joint work with Egypt to benefit from the accumulated Egyptian expertise in supporting development and construction efforts and achieving the common interests of the two countries.

The meeting witnessed extensive discussions between representatives of Egyptian and Eritrean companies about available investment opportunities, ways to launch joint projects, and mechanisms to overcome obstacles facing the business community. The Foreign Minister stressed the Egyptian state’s keenness to provide all aspects of support to Egyptian companies and enhance communication with the relevant Eritrean authorities, in a way that contributes to consolidating the economic partnership between the two countries and achieving economic integration in the Horn of Africa region.