Reforms make Egypt ‘land of opportunity,' business leader tells Serbia
The head of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce has urged Serbian businesses to use Egypt as a joint manufacturing and logistics centre for exporting to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, citing recent economic reforms and extensive free trade agreements.
Speaking at the Egyptian-Serbian Business Forum on Tuesday, Ahmed El-Wakil said that recent reforms, coordinated in 'a successful partnership between the government and the private sector,' have transformed Egypt. 'Thanks to these reforms, Egypt has once again become a land of promising opportunities,' he said.
El-Wakil called on Serbian companies to leverage Egypt's domestic market of over 100 million consumers, which he said expands to more than 3 billion through tariff-free trade agreements with the Arab world, Africa, the European Union, EFTA, Mercosur, Turkey, and the United States.
'We must use Egypt as a centre for joint manufacturing and a logistics centre in order to export to all these markets, without customs and with low shipping costs,' he said.
He identified several key sectors for cooperation where Serbia has advanced technology, including phosphate purification, the manufacturing of phosphoric acid and fertilisers, and the metal industries, particularly iron and steel. He added that negotiations on some of these areas began during a previous presidential visit to Serbia.
Other potential areas for partnership include component manufacturing for the automotive and home appliance sectors, software development and localisation, river transport linked to multimodal logistics, and tourism.
To facilitate this, El-Wakil announced that the Egyptian and Serbian chambers of commerce would appoint contact points to develop bilateral trade and investment and connect their members.
The business leader also addressed Serbia's hosting of the Belgrade Expo in 2027. 'We have supported Egypt in various Expo exhibitions, from Milan to Dubai, and we affirm that we will spare no effort in ensuring full support for the Belgrade Expo in 2027,' he said, highlighting the experience of Egyptian construction and infrastructure firms that have executed major projects globally.
'The time for talk is over, and the time has come to move forward with concrete measures,' El-Wakil concluded.
The forum was held in Egypt's New Administrative Capital and was chaired by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Serbian Prime Minister Guro Macut. In his opening remarks, El-Wakil noted that it was the third such high-level business meeting in two years, extending greetings on behalf of the Federation's more than 6 million members.
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