Lebanon, Egypt Sign 4 Agreements to Boost Trade and Investment

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The Lebanese-Egyptian talks were concluded by the signing of three memoranda of understanding, and an executive program to enhance trade and investment relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s press office said.

The Lebanese-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee held a meeting Friday evening at the Grand Serail, chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his visiting Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly.

After the meeting, Premiers Hariri and Madbouly signed three memoranda of understanding and an executive investment program.

The memorandum deals with the exchange of tax experiences, the export of Egyptian building materials (gravel and sand) to Lebanon, and the field of communication and information technology.

An executive program in the field of investment promotion was also signed between the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon for the years 2019-2020.

At the end of the meeting, Hariri said: “Once again I welcome Dr. Mustafa Madbouly and the ministers, members of the Egyptian delegation, who participated in the meetings of the ninth session of the Lebanese-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee. We can say that we managed through our negotiations to solve the problems that existed between the two countries in various fields, especially industry, electricity, labor and others. Premier Madbouly promised us to complete the files related to health and medicine in a few weeks so we can sign a memorandum regarding these sectors and start economic exchange.

“Our talks focused on ways to develop economic cooperation in light of the obstacles from both sides, particularly with regard to bureaucracy, and we decided to work together to overcome them,” he added.

For his part, Madbouly said: "Allow me to convey the greetings of the Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and his wishes of prosperity and progress to the Lebanese president, government and people, and to convey a message from him of Egypt’s support to Lebanon.

"We need to increase economic relations between the two countries by enabling the private sector to expand joint projects. There are areas of investment in both countries, and we encourage the establishment of joint companies that can invest in Egypt, Lebanon and other markets like Africa or elsewhere, especially that there are several advantages that characterizes the private sector," Egyptian PM added.

He concluded saying that "it is very important for the two sides to communicate directly, and we are keen to solve all problems and deepen ties during the next period."

SourceNaharnet