Egypt, Rawanda to Settle Payments within "Equal Deals" Mechanism

The Minister of Trade and Industry  Ahmed Samir said that discussions are in progress between the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and its Rwandan counterpart to settle payments, within the mechanism of equal deals, which gives an impetus to the trade movement between the two countries.

This came during a meeting held by the minister with Alfred Gakuba Kalisa, Ambassador of Rwanda in Cairo to discuss ways to enhance economic and trade cooperation between the two countries during the next stage, and also dealt with a number of issues of common concern.

In a statement today, the Ministry of Trade quoted Samir as saying that the meeting reviewed the great momentum witnessed by the Egyptian-Rwandan relations during the last stage; with the aim of increasing economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Samir explained that coordination is underway between the Ministers of Trade and Industry of Egypt and Rwanda to increase intra-trade rates, intensify visits by businessmen delegations from the two countries, and organize events that contribute to linking and networking investors from Egypt and Rwanda, in cooperation with businessmen associations.

He pointed out the importance of the Rwandan side providing more support to the Egyptian side regarding the file of registration and approval of Egyptian medicines in the Rwandan market.

Samir stressed the importance of increasing intra-trade between Egypt and Rwanda by increasing the rates of import and export of strategic commodities that countries import from other markets, pointing out that Egyptian exports to the Rwandan market rose during 2022 by 34.3% amounting to about $55.5 million, compared to $41.3 million in 2021, as the most prominent items of Egyptian exports to the Rwandan market included paper, food and medical products, and oils.

On his part, Kalisa conveyed the greetings of the Prime Minister of Rwanda to the Egyptian government for the constructive cooperation between the two countries at all levels.

Kalisa explained that the Rwandan capital, Kigali, will host an international exhibition in August, inviting the minister to visit the exhibition and the participation of Egyptian businessmen in pavilions in the exhibition, which contributes to strengthening the bonds between the business communities of the two countries.