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Jebel Ali port in Dubai. Image Credit: Supplied picture

Cairo: Egypt and the UAE have agreed on enhancing joint cooperation in all fields to boost bilateral investment, industrial and commercial ties.

This came during the joint UAE-Egypt Economic Committee’s meetings, which were headed by Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, and Egypt’s Trade Minister, Tarek Kabil, here on Saturday.

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The two-day discussions are being held in the presence of Juma Mubarak Al Junaibi, UAE Ambassador to Egypt; Mohammad Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Under-Secretary for Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Economy; Mohammad Saleh Shalawah, adviser to the Minister of Economy; and Jamal Al Jarwan, secretary-general of the UAE International Investors’ Council, and a number of officials.

The committee seeks to address the existing economic and trade relations and ways of developing partnerships between the two friendly countries.

The two sides also agreed to hold the committee meetings on an annual basis.

They reviewed opportunities to enhance prospects of cooperation in 13 developmental sectors, including trade, customs, industry, technology, tourism, finance, metrology, electricity, renewable energy, transport, aviation, and the water resources management fields.

In his speech, Al Mansouri said that the committee adds value to fraternal relations and the strong partnership between the UAE and Egypt.

He added that trade exchanges between the two countries hit $4.8 billion (Dh17.63 billion) at the end of 2016, noting that Egypt is a strategic trade partner of the UAE in the region.

Top trading partner

The UAE is among Egypt’s top 10 trading partners worldwide.

The total volume of non-oil trade between the two countries reached about $3.6 billion during the first nine months of 2017.

Kabil said that both states agreed on continuous communication, with the aim of boosting commercial ties, which saw a significant improvement after the execution of a number of joint development projects.

The meeting was also attended by a large number of Emirati and Egyptian businessmen and investors.