The fourth round of negotiations with Egypt on a free trade agreement may take place in the fall in Moscow. The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) reported.
Andrey Slepnev, member of the EEC Trade Board, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Egypt to Russia Ihab Nasr. The parties exchanged views on the current agenda of economic relations and touched upon the status of the negotiations on a free trade agreement.
According to Andrey Slepnev, the parties had previously made significant progress in the process of agreeing on the draft agreement. In particular, agreements were reached in the field of e-commerce, customs cooperation and simplification of procedures, technical barriers. The issues of trade in goods and sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary measures are in a high degree of agreement.
«It is necessary to reach an ambitious agreement, which will allow business not only to increase mutual trade, but also to expand access to the markets of third countries, primarily Africa. This applies to both regulation and tariffs,» the member of the EEC Trade Board said.
To achieve this goal, Andrey Slepnev proposed resuming a full-fledged negotiation process, interrupted due to the pandemic. Earlier, the next round of negotiations was planned to be held in Moscow, the corresponding agreement was reached with the Minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt, Nevin Gamea.
In this regard, Ihab Nasr noted that resumption of air communication between Russia and Egypt is expected in the near future, and promised to help with ensuring holding of negotiations in person. The parties agreed that an appropriate invitation will be sent to the Egyptian side in the near future.
