During a joint Egyptian-Vietnamese business forum organized last Thursday by the Cairo Chamber of Commerce headed by Eng. Ibrahim El-Araby, Chairman of the General Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, with a Vietnamese delegation, ways to support joint economic relations were discussed.

From Cairo Chamber's side, Ahmed Al-Weisimy, First Vice Chairman of Cairo Chamber of Commerce; Sameh Zaky, Second Vice-Chairman of Cairo Chamber of Commerce; and a number of members of the commercial divisions of the various activities at Cairo Chamber attended. Also, from the Vietnamese side, it was attended by Mr. Nguyen Hui Dung, Ambassador of the Republic of Vietnam in Egypt; Deputy Director General for Asia, African Market Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade; Mrs. Nguyen Minh Phuong, Head of West Asia and African Market Sector of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam; Dr. Nguyen Duy Hong, First Secretary Commercial for the Embassy of Vietnam in Cairo; and the accompanying delegation.

Zaky said in a speech on behalf of Eng. Ibrahim El-Araby that the Egyptian economy is currently going through one of the most important stages of development in light of recent changes at the local and global levels, which requires concerted efforts between the two countries. He referred to the infrastructure projects undertaken by Egypt to encourage investment, like the road network, bridges, transportation, communications, etc., in addition to the issuance of the Investment Law of 2017, which protects the investor and facilitates registration and operating procedures.

He also added that a package of investment incentives aimed at stimulating investment flows and projects that use or produce renewable energy has been provided, reflecting the real desire of the Egyptian political leadership to enhance investments and trade cooperation.

He pointed out that Egyptian-Vietnamese relations are characterised by diversity and pluralism in the political, economic, cultural, and development fields, and that Egypt is a promising market for its multiple advantages, whether geographical or free trade agreements with all markets and economic blocs, but the volume of trade exchange does not reflect the depth of the relationship between the two countries, where the volume of trade exchange reached $ 20 million in 2021 and to expand it, effort is required.

For his part, Hui Dong, Ambassador of the Republic of Vietnam to Egypt, said that this meeting aims to seek to increase cooperation in the next stage and provide more data on the market in the two countries to increase the volume of joint trade and investment exchange to achieve joint economic integration, expressing his hope that this forum will bear fruit.

Bilateral meetings between Egyptian and Vietnamese businesses in specialised industries, such as textiles, fabrics, medical supplies, chemical industries, fertilisers, plastics, electrical equipment, seafood, ceramics, agricultural crops, food industries, household goods, car parts, and motorcycles, were held during the forum.