Thailand-Egypt Joint Trade Committee established
Joint action plan for economic cooperation between Thailand and Egypt agreed
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has announced that on Thursday, he and Hassan El-Khatib, Egypt’s minister of investment and foreign trade, signed via a videoconference a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the Thailand-Egypt Joint Trade Committee (JTC) and a joint action plan for economic cooperation between Thailand and Egypt, as approved by the Cabinet in early December.
This marks an important step in strengthening the economic and trade relations between Thailand and Egypt, and is part of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2024.
The JTC will serve as a key mechanism for the trade ministers of both countries to discuss policies and strategies for enhancing economic ties and creating tangible cooperation in trade and investment for mutual benefit.
The committee has outlined important areas of economic cooperation between the two countries for the five-year period (2024-2029), including trade and investment, agriculture, clustering and industrial zones, tourism, and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Egypt is an emerging market with potential for Thai trade and investment, strategically located as a key maritime hub connecting Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal, and serving as a gateway to other countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Egypt thus holds high potential as a distribution centre for Thai goods. Moreover, Egypt currently has policies that are increasingly open to foreign trade and investment, attracting interest from Thai entrepreneurs.
"I propose to hold the first JTC meeting between Thailand and Egypt in the first half of 2025 to maximise the use of the JTC mechanism to seek cooperation and ways to facilitate and reduce trade and investment barriers for Thai businesses," Pichai said.
Currently, Egypt is Thailand's fifth-largest trading partner in Africa. In 2023, trade between the two countries totalled US$725.12 million, with Thai exports to Egypt valued at $666.16 million and imports from Egypt amounting to $58.96 million.
Key Thai exports include rubber products, wood and wood products, chemicals, automobiles, parts and accessories, and canned and processed seafood.
Key imports from Egypt include iron, steel and products, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, ready-made garments, and electrical machinery and components.
In the first 10 months of 2024 (January-October), bilateral trade amounted to $592.96 million, a decrease of 0.46% compared with the same period last year.
