Serbia and Egypt have signed a free trade agreement (FTA) and 10 other bilateral cooperation deals in different fields, Serbia’s government said on Saturday.
Following the signing ceremony, Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vucic stated that the FTA covers 10,412 tariff lines for Serbia and 6,075 for Egypt, as cited by the government in a press release.
During his visit to Cairo, Vucic told the press that he expects the trade exchange between the two countries to soon rise to 200 million euro ($217.7 million) from the current 100 million euro, a video posted by public broadcaster RTS showed.
Vucic also announced the establishment of flight routes between Belgrade and Cairo and noted the parties will work on a route between Nis and Alexandria.
Marko Cadez, head of Serbia’s chamber of commerce, pointed out that Serbian and Egyptian companies started working on joint projects even before the signing of the FTA, as quoted by the chamber in a statement.
Cadez announced that Serbia’s disinfectants producer Sigma and an unnamed Egyptian partner will launch a joint venture in September. Nis-based Neomedika will by the end of the year launch a factory of reagents for medical purposes, while Elixir from Prahovo is working on a project with Egyptian partners in the field of phosphate ore processing for the automotive industry, according to Cadez.
Cadez also said that Egyptian company Elsewedy was interested in investing in Serbia in the fields of infrastructure and car parts production.
Around 50 companies from Serbia and 60 from Egypt took part in a business forum held in Cairo on Sunday, the chamber said.
($ = 0.919 euro)
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