Eng. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, held an extensive meeting with Mrs. Pamela Cook Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Center, on the sidelines of their participation in the COP 27 Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, where the meeting reviewed the projects and programmes implemented by the Center in Egypt and the countries of the African continent in the fields of technical support, capacity building, empowerment of women and youth, increasing the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises, and linking them to global value chains.
The minister said that the Egyptian state supports the center's activities aimed at mitigating the impact of the current global economic repercussions resulting from the Corona pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis on developing countries and helping them achieve economic growth and sustainable development, pointing to Egypt's appreciation for the center's active participation in the activities of the COP 27 climate summit, which Egypt is currently hosting in Sharm El Sheikh.
Samir explained that the meeting reviewed the projects in which the International Trade Center in Egypt participates in cooperation with a number of international and national stakeholders, including the project to enhance the role of women in international trade "She Trades", which aims to support and encourage women's businesses, especially small and medium enterprises to export handicraft products.
He pointed out that the GITEX MENATICS project was also reviewed, which provides technical assistance to support the clothing and textile sector in order to enhance and improve its value chain, diversify its products, enhance the presence of the Egyptian product in the current markets and open new markets, as the project has achieved tangible success in increasing productivity and exports and rationalizing energy and water consumption, expressing Egypt's aspiration to implement similar programs for this project in other industrial sectors.
The minister pointed out that the Euro-Mediterranean Trade and Investment Facilitation Mechanism project and the regional project for training small and medium-sized enterprises to export within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) were also discussed at the meeting and that Egypt looks forward to gaining from the initiatives of the International Trade Center in the areas of increasing productivity and supporting exports for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Samir pointed out that the meeting reviewed the trade facilitation programmes provided within the framework of the programmes and grants provided by the center, pointing to the ministry's keenness to benefit from the center's programmes in the fields of energy, climate change, and digital transformation.
The minister expressed the Egyptian side's aspiration to enhance cooperation with the centre in the field of institutional development and technical support to the Egyptian authorities concerned with foreign trade and export promotion, led by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and its affiliates, by training new commercial attachés on new international trade mechanisms and modern frameworks for attracting foreign investments.
For her part, Mrs. Pamela Cook Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Center, indicated the Center's keenness to expand the frameworks and programmes of cooperation with the Egyptian government. Especially with regard to supporting and empowering Egyptian women and increasing their contribution to economic activity. She noted that the Center aims to start the second phase of the project during the next phase to enhance the role of women in international trade, "She Trades." which aims to increase the impact of the programme on supporting Egyptian women's projects by providing training programmes and technical support for these projects. Especially in light of the great positive impact achieved by the first phase of the project.
