Eng. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry, received Mr. Jamshid Khojayev, Deputy Prime Minister of the State of Uzbekistan, and his accompanying delegation, which included Mr. Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, and Mr. Mansurbek Kilychev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Cairo, along with a number of officials of the State of Uzbekistan. 

On the Egyptian side, the meeting was attended by Mr. Walid Gamal El-Din, the General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), and the Head of the Egyptian Commercial Representation Service (ECS), Minister Plenipotentiary Yahya al Wathiq-billah.

The meeting dealt with ways to increase the rates of trade exchange and enhance joint industrial and investment cooperation between the two countries during the next stage. The meeting also reviewed a number of economic issues and files of common interest, as well as developments in the global economic situation.

Samir pointed out that there are great investment opportunities and ingredients in the Egyptian market for the business community in the State of Uzbekistan in various productive and service sectors, which contribute to providing for the needs of the local market and exporting with preferential advantages to a large number of regional and global markets thanks to the network of free trade agreements concluded between Egypt and a large number of countries and the major economic blocs in the world.

The minister explained that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to about 49.9 million dollars last year, compared to about 46.6 million dollars, with an increase of about 7%, pointing out that there are distinguished investment opportunities in the Egyptian market that are of interest to business departments in the State of Uzbekistan, especially in the fields of textiles, ready-made garments, leather, electronics, renewable energy, and medicines.