Overview of Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt

The Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt plays an important role in promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt.

Functions and tasks of the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt

The Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt (concurrently serving Sudan, South Sudan, Palestine, Eritrea, Lebanon) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam currently plays an important role in promoting economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt.

In recent times, contributing to promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt has always paid attention to analyzing the market situation, import-export management policies and economic - trade, industrial and investment policies affecting Vietnam; and proposed solutions and policies to promote trade, industry, investment and other fields.

At the same time, the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt actively supports the connection of businesses of both sides to trade, promoting the import and export of goods. In particular, the Trade Office regularly provides timely recommendations to export enterprises on payment and dispute resolution when signing export contracts.

The Vietnam - Egypt relationship continues to develop remarkably in many fields. (Illustration photo)

Egypt is a transcontinental country with most of its territory located in North Africa and the Sinai Peninsula in West Asia, a market with more than 100 million people. Vietnam and Egypt have a traditional and friendly relationship. The bilateral relationship is built on a solid foundation of the common aspiration for independence and freedom and has been constantly nurtured by generations of leaders and people of the two countries. Over the past 60 years, the Vietnam - Egypt relationship has continued to develop remarkably in many fields.

In terms of economic and trade cooperation, Egypt is currently Vietnam's leading trade partner in the North African region. In addition, Vietnam and Egypt have many complementary strengths for mutual development. Specifically, with the advantage of being a member of many free trade agreements (FTAs) at the regional level, Vietnam can be a bridge for Egyptian goods and services.

On the contrary, with its prime location at the crossroads of three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, and being a member of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Egypt can effectively support Vietnamese goods and services to access these large markets.

According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt, Vietnam has a large trade surplus with Egypt, with a total export value of 450 - 500 million USD/year, accounting for 90% of total import-export turnover. Vietnam mainly exports raw agricultural products and aquatic products to Egypt, due to low import taxes. On the contrary, some Egyptian products have difficulty competing in Vietnam, due to high import taxes.

In the first 11 months of 2024, the total export value reached 429 million USD, up 8.3% over the same period in 2023. Some of Vietnam's products with high market share in Egypt include: Cashew nuts (77.1%), desiccated coconut (72.8%) and frozen fish fillets (96%).

Promoting the negotiation process of Vietnam - Egypt FTA

Vietnam and Egypt are accelerating the negotiation process for the Vietnam-Egypt FTA. The establishment of the FTA is expected to create favorable conditions for Vietnam to promote the export of its strong products not only to Egypt but also to access other markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe.

On the other hand, if Egypt has an FTA with Vietnam, Egyptian goods will not only have the opportunity to access Vietnam's market of over 100 million people, but through Vietnam, they will also have the opportunity to access markets in ASEAN, Asia-Pacific countries and major economies in the 16 FTAs ​​of which Vietnam is a member.

At the Conference of Trade Counselors, Heads of Trade Offices in the Asia - Africa market region, held on December 19 in Japan, Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung, First Secretary, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt, said that currently, the relationship between Vietnam and Egypt is extremely good and Egypt is also looking forward to expanding its market to Southeast Asia through Vietnam.

In addition, according to the representative of the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt, the Egyptian economy is also growing strongly with the need to attract investment and capital. In particular, Egyptian authorities have responded positively to the proposal to negotiate an FTA from Vietnam and recently signed an FTA with Serbia, although the trade relationship between the two countries is not large.

In order to promote the Vietnam - Egypt FTA negotiations, the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt proposed that Vietnam should accelerate the organization of the 3rd Meeting of the Trade and Industry Subcommittee, and respond positively to the proposal to establish a joint trade research group. In addition, it is necessary to soon organize the 6th Meeting of the Vietnam - Egypt Joint Committee with close coordination between ministries and sectors, especially in the fields of agriculture and investment.

In addition, the Vietnamese Trade Office in Egypt also proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade build a detailed database of export enterprises by industry and market area, and publish a list of reputable export enterprises annually.

Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt (concurrently in charge of Sudan, South Sudan, Palestine, Eritrea, Lebanon)

First Secretary, Head of Trade Affairs - Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung

Address: Ground floor 23 Mohamed El Ghazali, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt

Phone: 0020-2-3336-6598; 0020-122-124-8986

Email: [email protected]

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tong-quan-ve-thuong-vu-viet-nam-tai-ai-cap-367027.html