Egypt’s ambassador to Tanzania, Sherif Ismail, inaugurated the Egypt-Tanzania Business Forum, marking the start of an Egyptian trade mission to Tanzania.
The event was organised by the Egyptian Export Council for Chemical Industries and Fertilizers in collaboration with the Export Council for Building Materials, Refractories, and Metallurgical Commodities, and coordinated with the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS).
Ambassador Ismail emphasised that the main idea of the forum is to deepen economic and trade ties between Egypt and Tanzania. He added that there is strong cooperation and economic potential between the two countries, which are necessary for sustainable development.
He also reiterated Egypt’s commitment to promoting investment and trade with Tanzania, creating a sound business environment and developing public-private partnerships. Mohamed Attaya, the head of the Tanzanian ECS Office, noted that 23 Egyptian companies from 10 major sectors, including chemicals, fertilizers, agriculture and manufacturing, participated in the fair, and emphasized the importance of the partnership. He said Egyptian companies visited local markets such as Carriacou and will continue to inspect the factory.
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“The potential is limitless, but the opportunity is significant in agriculture,” Attaya said. “One of the biggest challenges in bilateral trade is the lack of a free trade agreement between Tanzania and Egypt, as Tanzania is not part of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
Latifa Khamis, the director of the Tanzanian Foreign Trade Development Agency, said the forum was a valuable opportunity for Tanzanian and Egyptian companies to establish partnerships and cooperation. Khamis said, “Egypt has made great progress in agriculture, while Tanzania has a good investment climate. We have already held talks with Egyptian companies and I encourage local businesses to consider these opportunities.”
He noted that investment prospects in the field of fertilizers, chemicals and seeds are promising and that Egypt was selected as the best international exhibitor at the Saba Saba fair last year.
Mohamed Majid, representative of the Egyptian Chemical and Fertilizer Export Council, reiterated Egypt’s determination to strengthen trade relations with Tanzania. He emphasized the deep political and economic ties between the two countries and stressed the importance of expanding cooperation in areas such as household appliances, chemicals, metals, agriculture and plastics.
“Tanzania has huge potential and we are excited to expand our business here. “We have over 100 fertilizer suppliers and we work with traders and related organizations to promote partnerships that go beyond sourcing and include technology transfer and local manufacturing,” Majeed concluded.
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Tanzanian participants praised the forum for opening doors to new businesses in Egypt and creating opportunities for local manufacturing resources.
Ahmed Abdel Fattah, Director of the Household Appliances, Electrical Appliances and Metal Products Export Council, chaired the opening session. He urged participants to use all the opportunities offered by the event to enhance cooperation and open new avenues for investment and trade.
