Global Courant 2023-05-25 17:30:29
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday at the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum that Russia is in talks to establish a free zone in Egypt.
There has been a noticeable increase in the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Russia, said international economics professor Karim al-Omda.
He noted that Egypt’s imports from Russia will exceed $3 billion by 2021. This rate had risen significantly by 2022, he added.
In 2021, he noted that Russia was the sixth largest supplier country for Egypt after China, Saudi Arabia, the US, Germany and Turkey.
Omda said Russian tourists coming to Egypt also represent a large percentage of the tourist flow to Egypt.
According to Omda, the agreement between Egypt and Russia to use local currency, be it the ruble or the pound, will facilitate trade between the two countries. He referred to the existence of a free trade agreement between Egypt and the countries of the Eurasian Union, meaning that goods enter and exit without customs.
Russia is an important country for Egypt, he stressed, as Cairo imports high-quality wheat and oils from Moscow at reasonable prices. Egypt also imports car parts, chemical products and others from Russia.
If Egypt gains access to the BRICS group and trades in the BRICS currency, it will contribute significantly to reducing demand for the US dollar, especially since the US is not Egypt’s largest trading partner.
China is Egypt’s largest trading partner, followed by Saudi Arabia, he added.
