Cairo: Egyptian Commercial Service (ECS) held a meeting for the working group of the Agricultural Mechanism between Egypt and the United Kingdom within the framework of the partnership agreement between the two countries. The meeting was chaired on the Egyptian side by Minister Plenipotentiary Dr. Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, First Undersecretary of the Ministry and Head of the ECS. Participants included Ambassador Wael Hamed, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Plenipotentiary (Commercial) Ahmed Amway, Head of the Egyptian Customs Authority, and representatives from the Commercial Agreements Sector of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, the Agricultural Quarantine, and the Veterinary Services Authority.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the meeting was chaired on the British side by Mr. Rob Lally, Head of the Africa, Economic Security, and Trade Relations Department at the UK Department for Business and Trade. The meetings held under the aforementioned mechanism aim to discuss ways to support agricultural and commercial cooperation and follow up on files of common priority, particularly in the field of agricultural produce, which is witnessing increasing demand in the British market.

Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service indicated that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the United Kingdom during 2024 reached approximately £2.9 billion, including Egyptian exports worth £1.4 billion and imports from the UK valued at £1.5 billion. Furthermore, British investments in Egypt amounted to approximately £20.6 billion up to the end of February 2025, through 2,103 companies operating in various economic sectors.

It is worth mentioning that the value of Egyptian fruit exports to the UK reached £197 million, and Egyptian vegetable exports amounted to £114 million, according to the data for 2024. Both parties emphasized the existence of numerous opportunities to increase trade exchange rates and encourage British investments in the Egyptian market in the food sectors.

This meeting comes in the context of the ongoing preparations for the anticipated visit of the British Prime Minister to Cairo during the autumn of 2025, which is expected to represent a significant step towards elevating the level of bilateral relations between the two countries to that of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.