Egypt’s Prime Minister Atef Ebeid said that President Hosni Mubarak’s visit to Washington in April will focus on reactivating economic cooperation between the two countries and increasing Egyptian exports to the United States, reported the weekly Middle East Times.
Ebeid added that the visit would also include negotiations with the US Administration to grant Egyptian products preferential treatment in US markets, similar to agreements between the US and neighboring states under the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA).
The US has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Israel, the PNA and Jordan.
He said Egypt would seek to establish relations based on partnership and development given the fact that there is an agreement on scaling down US aid to Egypt by five percent annually.
Ebeid added that the talks would include consultations with the US administration on the establishment of a free trade zone between the two countries, confirming that Egypt aims to increase the volume of Egyptian exports to the US market to $3 billion annually, said the weekly.
Ebeid also said that there has been a dramatic rise in foreign investments, citing the fact that the number of companies with foreign investments had reached 2,712.
US President George W. Bush invited Mubarak to visit Washington during Secretary of State Collin Powell’s visit to the Middle East region two weeks ago.
Jordan’s King Abdullah was also invited to visit Washington for talks with the US President – Albawaba.com
