Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said that the board of directors of the Export Development Fund agreed to boost the shipping cost to Iraqi and Libyan markets by 50%.

He also noted that this decision will increase exports to both markets by up to 25%.

This came during his meeting with the Export Development Fund’s board of directors.

Moreover, Kabil added that the Iraqi and Libyan markets have huge export opportunities for Egyptian products, pointing out the importance of paying attention to these markets at present, in order to ensure having large market shares in these countries.

“We work to automate the Export Development Fund’s services and procedures to improve the quality of services provided by the fund,” according to Kabil.

Furthermore, the minister said that a decree was issued, prescribing that the fund will take responsibility for organising Egyptian participation in specialised exhibitions abroad, in order to maximise the benefits of participation.

On the other hand, Kabil said that the Export Development Fund’s board of directors approved certificates for the export of marble and granite to foreign markets.

These certificates were issued by the ministry of trade and industry’s centre for marble technology.

Also, the board of directors approved the allocation of EGP 40m from the fund’s budget over three years for the sustainable development project.

The projects aims to train exporters, provide technical support, facilitate participation in foreign exhibitions, and grant watermarks to the promising products.

The Export Development Fund is a development financial institution whose major objective is to increase the productive potential of the country through provision of finance, equity participation, or credit guarantees, and advisory service for the setup, expansion, and modernisation of viable enterprises in the medium and large-scale enterprises sector.