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| Tuesday, 02 November 2004 |
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Ezzat Saad El Zaayed said one of the major issues he wants to raise with the Sri Lankan Government is the planning of the third session of the Joint Commercial Meeting for Economic and Technical Corporation between Sri Lanka and Egypt. Dr. Zaayed who met Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. W.A. Wiswa Warnapala at the Foreign Ministry office recently, also emphasised as the two countries are very active members of the Non-Aligned Movement, this embodiment and understanding should be strengthened and safeguarded at all levels in relation to solving regional and international problems. Acknowledging the views expressed by his counterpart, Prof. Warnapala said the proposal initiated by the Government of Egypt to promote trade in garments, fertiliser and industries, mainly through private sector involvement is acceptable to Sri Lanka, as the Government of Sri Lanka also appreciate the commanding role played by the private sector for its economic development. The Deputy Minister said he is happy to hear that the balance of trade between Sri Lanka and Egypt has been in favour of Sri Lanka. The balance of trade which stood at Rs. 662.8 million in 2002 increased by 3.6 per cent to Rs. 686.8 million in 2003. The total trade turnover rose by Rs. 84.7 million or 6.3 per cent from Rs. 1,350.2 million in 2002 to Rs. 1,434.9 million in 2003, mainly due to increased exports of desiccated coconut, rubber articles, coco peat, precious stones, spices and woven fabrics of cotton. The total trade between the two countries remained at US$ 14.9 million in 2003 with a balance of trade of US$ 7.1 million in favour of Sri Lanka. The total value of Sri Lanka's exports to Egypt, which stood at Rs. 1,006.5 million in 2002, increased by Rs. 54.4 million or 5.4 per cent to Rs. 1,060.9 million in 2003. Sri Lanka's tea exports to Egypt has decreased due to the adverse effect of the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) under the Common Market for Eastern and South Africa (COMESA). Kenya, a major producer of CTC Tea and a member of COMESA, exports tea to Egypt duty free while the tea from Sri Lanka is subjected to a 30 per cent import duty. However, due to a recent Presidential Decree, the custom duty on our tea has come down from 30 per cent to five per cent. The total value of Sri Lanka's imports from Egypt increased by 8.8 per cent from 343.7 million in 2002 to Rs. 374.1 million in 2003. The major import items in 2003 were sulphur phosphate, fertiliser (Urea), seeds of fennel, corriander, cumin, copper wires and waste, marble, woven synthetic fabrics, yeast, parts of plants etc. |
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