Dubai’s imports from Egypt totalled Dh3 billion ($816.5 million) during January to September last year, as bilateral trade between the UAE and Egypt grew reflecting the solid economic and commercial relationships between the countries.

Co-ordination is under way both at governmental and private-sector levels aiming to ease and strengthen mutual trade in a such way as to meet the needs of a developing Egyptian economy, said a statement.

According to the latest end-of-September foreign trade statistics revealed by Dubai Customs, Dubai-Egypt trade grew 21.5 per cent hitting Dh11.3 billion over the first three quarters of last year, compared to Dh9.3 billion recorded in the same period of 2013.

Dubai-Egypt bilateral trade covers a wide range of goods, with phones, computers, satellite receivers and printers leading the list.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC), said: “We at PCFC strive to stimulate two-way trade growth with Egypt, by actively supporting UAE’s efforts to strengthening socio-economic development in Egypt, in line with the directives of our leaders.

“We realise the tremendous opportunities posed by Egyptian markets and the vast prospects they offer to trade growth, particularly as Egypt has embarked on an important phase for investment and economic and industrial development.”

The approach to drive forward bilateral trade with Egypt coincides with the UAE’s focus on increasing the inflow of investments to Egypt in the upcoming stage in all sectors; industry, real estate, tourism, transportation and infrastructure, he noted.  

Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, director of Dubai Customs, said: “We aim for a higher level of trade and economic collaboration between the UAE and Egypt, articulating  the long-standing ties that connect us with the State and people of Egypt.

“We shall continue to facilitate mutual trade flow to cater to the needs of the Egyptian market by supplying it with goods from around the world, and –at the same time – ensuring Egyptian products have access into global markets via Dubai.” - TradeArabia News Service