During a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli emphasized the urgent need to establish maritime routes between Egypt and COMESA countries, as well as between Egypt and regions in West and North Africa.
The prime minister directed the convening of a meeting involving the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, and various export councils. The goal of this meeting is to reach a consensus on the sailing network and the specific goods to be exported.
Back in 2018, Egypt introduced the concept of a trade shipping route connecting Lake Victoria in Central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea, which was termed the VICMED project.
According to a report from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in June, Egypt’s exports to Africa witnessed a five percent decrease in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. Conversely, imports grew by three percent.
Regarding exports, figures dropped from $531.4 million to $504.2 million. Notably, Kenya emerged as the primary importer with $67.2 million (down from $91.6 million), followed by South Africa with $17.4 million (down from $30.3 million), and Ethiopia with $1.7 million (down from $2.6 million).
On the imports front, the total increased from $1.6 billion to $1.656 billion. Key contributors to this rise were Kenya with $83.2 million (down from $97 million) as the foremost exporter, followed by South Africa with $28 million (up from $21.2 million).
