THE BUSINESS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
THE BUSINESS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Last week, on December 5, the UK government announced it has signed a new Association Agreement with Egypt, aimed at strengthening ties between the UK and Egypt. The two country's existing trading relationship is governed by the EU-Egypt Association Agreement, which will no longer apply when the EU-UK Transition Period expires on December 31, 2020.
In 2019, the UK exported goods worth £1.5 billion and services worth £0.8 billion to Egypt. Some of the major UK exports include metal ores (£235 million) and medicinal and pharmaceutical products (£111 million), while the UK's major imports from Egypt include intermediate electrical goods (£193 million) and vegetables and fruit (£160 million).
The agreement was signed by the British Ambassador to Egypt, Sir Geoffrey Adams, and Egypt’s Assistant Foreign Minister for Europe, Badr Abdelatty.
Responding to the agreement, Nabil Besri, General Manager at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) North Africa, said that "As a large British Healthcare company in Egypt, GSK Consumer Healthcare welcomes the signature of this trade agreement between Egypt and the UK. This important agreement will undoubtedly ensure the continuity of the strong business partnership between our two countries and allow British investors to continue to benefit from a strong and healthy investment environment in Egypt. We continue to be very optimistic about the future development opportunities in Egypt and look forward to more growth under the terms of this agreement, serving the interests of both the British & the Egyptian economies."
Anthony Pile, Chairman at Blue Skies Holdings and a long term investor in Egypt, added that "The agreement is vital to securing jobs, prosperity, sustainability and indeed driving much needed economic growth in both Egypt and the UK. Now, more than ever in the current international climate, we need the security of a seamless continuation of free trade to safeguard the future of our business."
For more details on the UK's trading relationship with Egypt, go to www.great.gov.uk/markets/egypt.
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