ArmInfo. The Government of Armenia is ready to assist all initiatives aimed at the development of Armenian-Egyptian relations. On February 11, receiving Egyptian Ambassador to Armenia Bahaa El Din Bahgat Dessouki, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said.
According to him, quoted by the press service of the RA government, historical and cultural ties and dynamically developing interstate relations can become a prerequisite for further expansion of bilateral trade and economic cooperation. Mher Grigoryan also pointed out the close relations existing between the two states in the spheres of education, culture and tourism, which have great potential for cooperation.
The Deputy Prime Minister presented the course of the negotiation process on the creation of a free trade zone between the EEU and Egypt, expressing the hope that the conclusion of the agreement will also contribute to the development of Armenian-Egyptian relations.
The Egyptian Ambassador, expressing gratitude for the reception, noted that he would make every effort to raise Armenian-Egyptian relations to a qualitatively new level. The interlocutors exchanged views on bilateral cooperation in various fields and possible directions for their further development.
Earlier, ArmInfo, citing the press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission, reported that the EAEU and Egypt had successfully completed the first round of negotiations on the conclusion of a free trade agreement, which was held in Cairo (Egypt) on January 15-17. In connection with the commencement of the talks, a visit was made to Cairo by Armenian Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Mher Grigoryan and Member of the Board (Minister) for the EEC Trade, Veronika Nikishina. The parties discussed the main provisions of the agreement, fixed the agreed positions and outlined the schedule for further work. The EAEU and Egypt demonstrated readiness for a constructive dialogue on the whole range of issues raised in the agreement, and confirmed their desire to develop a full-fledged progressive agreement aimed at ensuring high-quality predictability of trade conditions and transparency of trade regulation. The trade agreement will create new opportunities for the EEU countries to develop and diversify trade with Egypt. The trade turnover between the EEU countries and Egypt for the ten months of 2018 amounted to $ 5.8 billion, an increase of 21.2% compared with the same period in 2017. During the visit, high-level meetings of Mher Grigorian and Veronika Nikishina were held with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar. The parties noted the high significance of the future agreement for the development of trade and economic relations between the EEU countries and Egypt and expressed their readiness to provide the necessary support to delegations for the successful advancement of the negotiations. Recall that at present the Eurasian Economic Union is negotiating the conclusion of free trade agreements with the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Singapore, the Republic of Serbia and the State of Israel.