THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) in collaboration with the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Malaysia organised a Trade Talk on 'Doing Business with Egypt' today at Menara MATRADE to highlight to Malaysian companies the business opportunities for them in Egypt.

The event was part of the activities undertaken by the trade promotion agency to engage and boost trade and economic relations with Egypt. The event was attended by MATRADE's Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mr. Wan Latiff Wan Musa and the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Malaysia, H.E. Salah Mohi Eldin Elwassimy.

"With some early positive signs emerging from the reforms undertaken by the Egyptian authorities, MATRADE expects economic ties between Malaysia and Egypt to strengthen in the near future," said Mr Wan Latiff.

The Egyptian economy has been affected by the political revolution that began in 2011. In terms of bilateral trade between Malaysia and Egypt, it been on the downtrend. Malaysia's total trade with Egypt in 2016 was only about half the volume recorded in 2010. During the period, Malaysia's exports to Egypt have been impacted. For 2016, Malaysia's total trade with Egypt decreased by 18.9% to register RM2.58 billion from RM3.18 billion recorded in 2015. Exports dropped by 6.8% to RM2.08 billion while imports were down by 47.1% to RM505.4 million.

The trade talk was organised to highlight the recent developments and reforms taking place in Egypt in its effort to rebuild the economy. Just recently, World Bank approved USD3 billion & International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved USD12 billion for various construction and infrastructure developments such as ports, roads, power generation, facilities and water treatment plants in Egypt.

"MATRADE through its Cairo trade office is closely monitoring the developments in Egypt and we will keep the local companies informed on the programmes undertaken by the Egyptian government in supporting its trade and foreign investment," Mr Wan Latiff said.

As a result of various development efforts undertaken by the Egyptian government to stimulate the economy, there are export opportunities for Malaysian companies in the areas of construction and related sectors as well as building materials. Others include machinery and equipment, furniture, automotive parts, halal products, healthcare products and services, oil and gas services and tourism-related products as well as services.

"Much need to be done to increase and deepen trade between Egypt and Malaysia. For this purpose, we need to encourage more cooperation and collaborations between the business communities in both countries which bring opportunities for Malaysian companies in the construction and related sectors," Mr Wan Latiff mentioned.

Egypt, which is the largest in term of population in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) with over 90 million people, is a very important market for Malaysian products and services as well as for cross border investment. This is due to Egypt's strategic location, its vast underlying economic potentials and Malaysia-Egypt long-standing bilateral relations and people-to-people ties.

MATRADE also encourages Malaysian companies to leverage on MATRADE's 47 international offices to understand the global markets and start exporting. Local companies that are keen to explore the Egyptian market can contact MATRADE's Cairo office by emailing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..