Egypt Kenya Business Bridge Forum Launched
Egypt’s Chemical and Fertilisers Export Council in cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Industry – Egypt (MIT), Export Council for Building Materials and Egyptian Commercial Service Office in Nairobi for a two day trade mission aimed at exploring business ties and the possibilities of cooperation with companies in Kenya.
The mission comprises of the business delegation of 30+ Egyptian companies financed by Banque Misr (BM) and will see bilateral meetings between businessmen and companies on both sides and field visits by Egyptian companies to their
Kenyan counterparts and to the industrial areas.
The delegation includes companies from the below industries: Building Materials, Iron & Steel, Cement & Gypsum, Ceramics & Tiles, Glass Marble & Granite, Aluminum Profiles, Metal Casting, Sanitary Ware, Insulation Materials, Plastic Pipes, Valves & Fittings, Plastics & Plastic Products, Metals & Metallurgical Industries, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Paints & Coatings, Adhesive, Detergents, Disinfectants, & Cosmetics, Glass Tableware, Plastic Kitchenware, Rubber & Carbon Products, Geo-textile and Glass Products.
Speaking at the launch of the Egypt Kenya Business Bridge Forum Deputy Director International trade, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry of Trade Sylvia Kaburu called for continued intra-Africa trade expansion in the spirit of the Africa free continental trade area and as a way of cushioning the continent from trade disruptions in other parts of the world.
She called on Kenyan manufacturers to take advantage of the existing trade agreements between the two countries to facilitate the free movement of goods to the North African nation.
She further emphasized on the need to promote long lasting alliances between governments, state actors and the commercial sector to help endure shocks.
“To get back to development momentum, economic recovery through economic expansion, partnerships and cooperations, trade and industry and investment diversification is very key” she said.
Egypt through its Ambassador to Kenya Khaled Elabyad called on business people to explore more sectors than the traditional agricultural and chemical products. He called on cooperation to improve the quality of products through joint ventures, technology and skill transfer programmes.
“Egypt remains the third most important trading partner with Kenya, with Nairobi an important gateway to East and Central Africa. Our volumes of trade between the two countries has expanded over the years to over USD $600 millions and we are on track to achieving our one billion dollars target through expansion to new sectors,” Khaled Elabyad told the participants.
Head of the Egyptian mission Engineer Samir Naaman said he hoped the business people of the two countries would take advantage of the mission to explore investment opportunities, network, exchange knowledge, develop trading and collaborative relationships, promote bilateral trade, and enhance regional and international trade.
Speaking on behalf of the private sector Kenya National Chamber of Commerce Vice President Dr. Eric Ruto said the chamber has continued to promote trade and investment between the two countries through trade missions, formation of joint business councils, joint partnerships and agreements between the Cairo and Kenyan chambers of commerce.
“Mutual understanding with a positive attitude would promote the development of bilateral relations and escalate the growth of business opportunities,” he added
“Egypt’s continues to lead the continent in cost effective manufacturing giving their companies an edge over Kenyan goods hence the existing imbalance of trade,” said Dr Darshan Chandaria, member Egypt/Kenya business joint committee in response to growing gap in volume of trade.
The event has brought together participating companies into contact with potential agents, importers, distributors/ wholesalers, retailers, joint venture partners, local businesses and Government agencies in the region.
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