EU funds Egypt's developmental projects with 1.2 bln USD annually: minister

Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-15 21:05:19|Editor: Wu Qin
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CAIRO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The volume of developmental cooperation projects that the European Union (EU) is funding in Egypt hit 1.1 billion euros (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) annually, Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar said on Sunday.

Egypt's trade volume with the EU forms about 30 percent of its global merchandise trade, official Ahram Online news website quoted the minister as saying during the closing ceremony of the EU-funded Trade and Domestic Market Enhancement Programme (TDMEP).

Nassar said that the TDEMP had contributed to enhancing essential reforms in the Ministry of Trade.

"The program also paves the way for improving structural strategies in cooperation with the private sector and drafting the national quality strategy for Egypt's industry," Nassar said.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim al-Afia, head of the cooperation sector of the delegation of the EU to Egypt, asserted that the EU is the main trade partner and investor in most Mediterranean countries.

"TDMEP, which is funded by the EU with 20 million euros (22.3 million U.S. dollars), has achieved tangible outcomes for Egypt's economy. It is committed to offering technical support for Egypt's Trade Ministry," al-Afia said.

He added that the TDMEP has played a vital role in inaugurating a number of new entities in Egypt's trade ministry.

According to the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, the EU's investments in Egypt reached 15.1 billion U.S. dollars.

The ministry also said that the volume of trade between Egypt and the EU countries reached 26 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, and 13.4 billion dollars in the first half of 2019.

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