Cairo: As part of the efforts exerted by the Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) to strengthen economic and trade cooperation between Egypt and Pakistan, the Department of Asian and Oceanian Affairs at ECS organized the second meeting of the Egyptian-Pakistani Trade Working Group.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the meeting was held via video conference and included representatives from various national entities from both sides, such as the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Industry, Transport, and Agriculture. The Customs Authority, National Food Safety Authority, Agricultural Quarantine, Suez Canal Authority, and the Maritime Transport Sector were also represented. Also in attendance were the Egyptian Ambassador to Pakistan, the Pakistani Embassy in Cairo, and their counterparts from relevant Pakistani authorities.
The session aimed to follow up on the joint working group’s progress and explore ways to develop bilateral cooperation across various fields of mutual interest. The meeting was opened by Dr. Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, First Undersecretary and Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service, who chaired the Egyptian side. He welcomed the participants, noting that this meeting constitutes the second edition of the Joint Working Group sessions, following the previous meeting held in Islamabad in 2019.
El-Sherif emphasized that the relationship between the two nations is built on strong political and economic foundations, bolstered by recent official visits, most notably the Egyptian Foreign Minister’s visit to Pakistan this December and the Pakistani Trade Minister’s participation in the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation ministerial meetings held in Cairo on December 2, 2025. He added that bilateral trade volume reached approximately $217 million in 2024, compared to $215 million in 2023, noting that these figures do not yet reflect the true potential of both economies.
He highlighted that Egypt hosts approximately 176 Pakistani companies with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) estimated at $36 million, concentrated in textiles, food industries, IT, and telecommunications. Furthermore, El-Sherif noted the interest of several Pakistani companies in launching operations in the Egyptian market in sectors such as tractors, textiles, and ICT.
El-Sherif explained that both sides agreed to draft an executive plan to enhance trade and investment partnerships in priority sectors during the coming period. The meeting also reviewed cooperation opportunities in various fields, including customs, maritime transport, logistics, agriculture, and industry. Proposals included exchanging expertise in customs modernization, capacity building, and combating customs evasion. The Suez Canal Authority expressed interest in cooperating on ship repair, port development, maritime training, and shipbuilding.
In agriculture and industry, enhancing cooperation to allow Pakistani animal products into the Egyptian market and fisheries cooperation were discussed. Additionally, a proposal for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Egyptian Commercial Service was considered.
In his closing remarks, Commercial Minister Plenipotentiary Sayed Fouad, Director of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Department, stated that Egyptian and Pakistani authorities agreed to continue cooperation across all economic, trade, and investment fields to serve national objectives and ensure balanced interests for all parties. The meeting was attended by Commercial Minister Plenipotentiary Raji Nabil, Deputy Director of the Asian Affairs Department; Commercial Counselor Ahmed Seif El-Nasr; Commercial Second Secretary Ahmed Adel Ghanem; and Commercial Attach© Jihad Ahmed Shaltout.