Hassan El-Khatib, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, and Mahasen Ali Yaqoub, Sudan’s Minister of Industry and Trade, chaired on Monday in Cairo the meetings of the Joint Egyptian–Sudanese Trade and Industry Committee, with the participation of senior officials from both countries.
El-Khatib affirmed the strong fraternal ties binding the two countries and their shared commitment to strengthening economic relations in line with their mutual aspirations. He reiterated Egypt’s readiness to support Sudan during its economic recovery phase by forging strategic partnerships and enhancing trade and investment linkages.
The minister stressed the importance of the committee’s regular convening, as well as sustained communication and coordination between the Egyptian and Sudanese sides at both governmental and private-sector levels, noting that such cooperation would help accelerate implementation and advance the two countries’ economic objectives.
For her part, Yaqoub said the committee’s meetings reflect the depth of relations between Egypt and Sudan and demonstrate the two countries’ willingness to join forces and pool efforts to achieve economic integration. She highlighted the need to further develop trade and investment relations, increase trade exchange, and expand cooperation in expertise-sharing and training in a manner commensurate with the close ties between the peoples of the Nile Valley and their shared interests.
Yaqoub also called for continued coordination and joint action to remove obstacles hindering the growth of bilateral trade, in line with the significant economic potential of both countries.
At the conclusion of the meetings, the two ministers signed the minutes of the committee’s proceedings, which included agreements across a number of priority areas. Both sides praised the existing level of economic cooperation between Cairo and Khartoum and stressed the importance of intensifying joint efforts to raise bilateral trade to levels that reflect the two countries’ potential and integration opportunities.
They noted that trade exchange between Egypt and Sudan reached approximately $1.15bn in 2024 and agreed to take all necessary measures to further increase trade volumes in a manner that meets the aspirations of both nations.
The two sides agreed on a package of measures and executive programmes to enhance economic integration, including the formation of a technical working group to boost trade exchange and identify priorities for merchandise trade. They also agreed to study a draft memorandum of understanding between Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones and Sudan’s National Investment Authority to strengthen investment cooperation and facilitate the transfer of Egyptian expertise, particularly in free-zone management and the implementation of the one-stop-shop mechanism.
In addition, the two sides agreed to grant priority to Egyptian companies in Sudan’s reconstruction projects. Egypt also pledged to provide technical support to restart Sudanese factories damaged by the war and to begin training Sudanese customs personnel starting next January.
The ministers further affirmed the need to harmonise technical specifications for traded goods and to establish a mechanism for the mutual recognition of conformity certificates to facilitate the movement of goods between the two countries.
They also agreed to study measures to increase the number of trucks and buses crossing the shared border, work on mobilising financing for logistics zones along the border, and hold a conference for directors of land border crossings next January. Enhanced coordination between border crossing managers was also emphasised to address congestion issues.
The two sides agreed to update the memorandum of understanding between the Egyptian and Sudanese central banks to include cooperation in governance, financial inclusion, and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. They also agreed to exchange expertise in agricultural and veterinary quarantine and epidemic control.
Finally, both sides agreed to closely monitor the implementation of the committee’s outcomes through regular reporting and to continue holding committee meetings on a regular basis, with the next session scheduled to take place in Khartoum during the first half of 2027.
