Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation hosted representatives from 29 government agencies to discuss preparations, and launch the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Committee.
The committee is expected to be held soon, and will be headed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.
The meeting was chaired by Tareq Al Shaarawi, advisor to the Minister of International Cooperation and Supervisor of the Arab and African Cooperation Sector. It was attended by representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Trade and Industry; Transportation; Agriculture; Health; Housing; Petroleum; Electricity; Solidarity; Communications and Information Technology; Justice; Finance; Civil Aviation; Manpower; Planning; Military Production; and Higher Education.
Other participants at the meeting included representatives from: the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE); Enterprises Development Agency; Consumer Protection Agency (CPA); General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI); the Industrial Development Authority (IDA); the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI); the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC); the Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations (EFIA); and the Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors.
During the meeting, the agenda for the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Committee was reviewed, and it was agreed that the committee should reflect the tripartite presidential summit between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. The summit aims to deepen bilateral ties, and enhance economic diplomacy among Arab countries.
Through strengthened cooperation, the committee will encourage investments between the countries, particularly in industry, agriculture, energy, tourism and construction.
In September, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat met with Iraq’s Ambassador in Cairo and permanent representative to the Arab League, Ahmed Nayef Al-Dulaimi. The two sides discussed developments in the Egyptian-Iraqi Joint Higher Committee, in which Egypt emphasised its keen interest to grow relations with Iraq in all economic cooperation aspects.
