Russia-Egypt Trade Could Almost Double This Year, Expert Says

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Trade between Russia and Egypt may go up to $10 billion in 2018, chairman of the Russia-Egyptian Business Council under the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mikhail Orlov, said on Friday, according to TASS.

“Trade is growing dramatically <…> It was about six billion dollars last year and is likely to be even more this year: I think we can make up to ten billion,” he told the news agencyat the sidelines of the Kazan Summit international economic event.

According to Orlov, bilateral trade has a potential of reaching $25 billion. However to achieve such indices Moscow and Cairo need to simplify procedures of mutual financing of projects, harmonize phytosanitary standards and remove administrative barriers in the pharmaceuticals sector.

2017 saw an unprecedented increase in trade volume between the two countries, with turnover rising by 62% compared to 2016. Egypt’s exports to Russia stood at $504 million in 2017 compared to $374 million in 2016, while Russian exports to Egypt surpassed $6.2 billion.

The past four years have witnessed great development in Egyptian-Russian strategic cooperation in both politics and economy. Egypt is launching a number of mega projects in cooperation with Russia, the most important of which is the construction of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant in El-Dabaa, with an estimated cost of $60 billion. The Egyptian-Russian Industrial City project is another mega one that is plannedto add much to the Egyptian economy, especially in the field of industries that feed the automotive, aircraft, computer and electronic industries.