Final stages of Egypt-EAEU free trade zone negotiations underway

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Dec 2023 22:53

Alexey Tevanyan, the Russian Trade Representative to Egypt, expressed that the signing of a free trade agreement between Egypt and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) would ease access for Russian goods to the Egyptian market.

Flags of EAEU member states (Sputnik / Tabyldy Kadyrbekov)

The final stages of negotiations for the establishment of a free trade zone between Egypt and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are underway, as stated by Alexey Tevanyan, the Russian Trade Representative to Egypt, to Sputnik.

On Saturday, Dmitry Birichevsky, the director of the Department of Economic Cooperation at the Russian Foreign Ministry, informed Sputnik that a nearly finalized draft of a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Egypt was in progress.

"The signing of a free trade agreement between Egypt and the EAEU will facilitate the access of our goods to the Egyptian market. Negotiations on the free trade zone are at the final stage," Tevanyan said, adding that Russian engineering products are esteemed in Egypt due to their advantageous price-quality ratio.

"Egyptians have purchased a large batch of our passenger cars and are well acquainted with Lada cars, which have long been assembled at local facilities," Tevanyan said.

The agreement to provide the Egyptian National Railways with 1,350 passenger cars, totaling over 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), was signed in 2018. The manufacturing process took place in Russia and Hungary.

EAEU expanding slowly, but surely

The Eurasian Economic Union comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.

Currently, the EAEU has free trade agreements with Vietnam and Serbia. Additionally, the bloc has a trade and economic cooperation agreement with China.

The most recent development involves the signing of a free trade zone agreement with Iran.

On December 25, member states of the EAEU formally signed a comprehensive free trade agreement with Iran during a meeting in St. Petersburg.

Key representatives, including the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Mikhail Myasnikovich, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, and Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Abbas Aliabadi, participated in the signing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the strategic importance, of anticipating duty-free access for most goods to Iran's market, reducing non-tariff barriers, and enhancing commercial cooperation.