Engineer Tarek Kabil, the Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the strength of the geographic and historic relations connecting Egypt to African countries is considered a main factor in developing the trade and economic relations between them, noting that the African market is one of the priorities of the strategy adopted by the state, aiming to double Egyptian exports to several African markets.

The minister said that the visit of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to Tanzania, Rwanda, Chad, and Gabon is considered a major step towards enhancing the joint economic relations between Egypt and these countries, as the trade volume between them reached nearly $73m, including $69m Egyptian exports, and imports worth $4m.

Kabil explained that the most important Egyptian goods exported to the market of Rwanda are food products, drinks, tobacco, chemical and plant products, in addition to wood and paper paste, metals, oils, and stones. Imports from Rwanda only included plant products.

He pointed out that the most important Egyptian items exported to Chad included foodstuffs, engineering and medical goods, furniture, agricultural products, textiles and leather. Imports from Chad include foodstuffs and cotton.

As for Tanzania, Egyptian exports included foodstuff, chemical products, metals, stone products, cement, plastics, and wood and paper pastes, in addition to shoes, living animals, and visual equipment. Imports included wood, leathers and chemical products.

Kabil pointed out that Egyptian exports to Gabon included a mix of taste and smell additives, public transportation buses and tourism buses, glasses of different kinds, paints, aluminum, plumbing equipment, cooking equipment, wood furniture, and calcium bicarbonate. Imports included steel and iron products only.