Minister of Industry and Trade Tareq Qabeel said Cairo will host the third meeting of the Egyptian-Belarusian trade committee in mid March to bolster trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

This came during talks held earlier in the day between Belarusian Ambassador Sergie Rachkov and the minister on means of buttressing trade and industrial relations between the two countries.

In statements following the meeting, Qabeel said the meeting covered the importance of clinching a free trade agreement, which is currently being discussed between Egypt and the Belarusian economy union, a matter which could give a strong impetus to the two countries relations.

As per the volume of trade between the two countries, Qabeel said the volume reached dlrs 58.04 million in the first half of the current year, a value which is not up to the level of productivity and export potentials in both countries.

Talks also covered means of activating cooperation in the industrial domain, especially truck manufacturing and agricultural equipment, the minister said, pressing the need for maximizing the use of economic potentials in both countries and exchanging visits between the two countries' businessmen.

The Belarusian ambassador, on his part, asserted that his country is keen on boosting economic cooperation with Egypt which he considered a promising market in the Middle East and Africa.

He also appreciated Cairo's hosting the third meeting of the joint trade committee in early 2016, asserting that the step would help enlarge the volume of trade exchange and investments.

Source: MENA