Arab Republic of Egypt Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade General Organization for Export and Import Control

Within the framework of implementing directives of His Excellency, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for localizing the state-of-art manufacturing technologies and increasing domestic manufacturing rates, in accordance with the requirements and standards of the Green Economy and due to the keenness of Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade to improve the system of services provided to exporters and importers, Eng. Essam El-Naggar, Chairman of the General Organization for Export and Import Control, and MG. Eng. Mokhtar Abdel Latif, Chairman of Arab Organization for Industrialization, witnessed the ceremony of obtaining ATICO Wood Industries Factory, affiliated to Arab Organization for Industrialization, the Report of Internationally Accredited Carbon Footprint in the field of industrial application of Green Economy Standards.

During deliberations, the executive steps were discussed for applying standards and requirements of sustainability systems and measuring carbon emissions at ATICO factory, according to the latest international standards. They also agreed upon joint coordination for increasing the competitiveness of Egyptian exports through the producing and manufacturing developed products that meet entire needs of global markets and confirming the slogan "Made in Egypt".

Eng. Essam El-Naggar, Chairman of the GOEIC, in his turn, confirmed GOEIC's important role in achieving balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability in one of the units established at the GOEIC to serve the community of exporters and investors. He also mentioned that the Environment Validation and Verification Unit (GOEIC EVVU) for issuance of Carbon Emissions Reduction Certificates was established and approved by the Egyptian Accreditation Council (EGAC) in May 2023, in implementation of the Prime Minister's directives.

His Excellency reviewed the Organization's strategy in supporting trade and investment community for the transition to Green Economy, enhancement of using renewable energy and boosting sustainable practices in all aspects of work. He also added that GOEIC updates its services to support exporters and investors to comply with environmental standards to support Egyptian exports and increase their competitiveness in global markets, particularly important establishment of integrated laboratories in all major ports and developing laboratories with a total of 310 laboratories and 3,300 internationally accredited tests from Egyptian Accreditation Council (EGAC) according to the international standard ISO:17025, contributing to facilitation of trade movement.

In addition to establishing the GOEIC EVVU for issuing Certificates of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction, that will enable the GOEIC to issue certificates required to verify and validate Carbon Emissions Reduction Certificates in a way that provides a competitive advantage and also enhances environment-friendly Egyptian exports and being accredited by EGAC according to International Standards in addition to establishing a specialized laboratory for conducting biodegradation test for exported products, including detergents, textile products, and leather products, and their compliance with the global legislation OECD/OCDE TG310, which will have a positive impact on the national industry reputation, in addition to its significant impact in reducing the emissions, supporting the clean economy, and encouraging the Egyptian exports.

He also added, the GOEIC has established Product Inspection Unit in accordance with International Standards ISO/IEC17020 for issuance of conformity certificates for exported products, as the unit provides inspection services to governments, manufacturers, exporters, importers and others with the aim of verifying conformity before exporting goods and products to different countries in accordance with the standard specifications of the importing country in such way that help parties to global trade mitigate risks related to contract agreements for goods.

GOEIC also established Conformity Certification Unit for industrial products according to International Standards ISO/IEC17065 regarding requirements of bodies giving the product certificates. The unit was registered with the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) and it was enlisted on SABER platform as a Conformity Assessment Body approved by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the unit can extract certificates of conformity for products and inspect factories to ensure that their products conform to ISO/IEC 17065 and relevant Saudi Technical Specifications and Regulations set by SASO as a requirement for the products to access Saudi markets.

The GOIEC issues Free Sale Certificates (FSC) for industrial goods and products, that some countries require, upon exportation for releasing Egyptian chemical and industrial exports. Conformity Certification Unit issued Free Sale Certificates for several products such as vehicles spare parts, detergents, plastic hoses and connections, and fertilizers and their addition.  

El-Naggar noted that the GOEIC provides various training services to exporters through the approved Center of Excellence in all branches of the GOEIC in various fields, as one of its most important objectives is to link the scientific research with the foreign trade community. The Organization also works within the Customs Release System for providing more facilities to exporters and importers in such way that contributes to the entry and exit of products at the quickest time and at the lowest cost, improving Egypt’s rank in international trade indicators and increasing foreign trade rates, through reducing customs release time and increasing working days at all ports to provide all services for exporters and importers to reach seven days a week, starting on Saturday, December 14^th, 2024.

For her part, Dr. Eman El-Nahhas, Chief of GOEIC Central Department of Center of Excellence, said that after approving the center by the Central Agency for Organization and Administration, the center is scheduled to offer several training courses in the field of carbon, particularly important identification  of EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and its impact on Egyptian exports, services provided by Carbon Footprint Certification Unit to increase Egyptian exports, and training courses on the importance of transitioning to the Green Economy within the framework of linking scientific research to increasing Egyptian exports.

The ceremony events witnessed honoring Eng. Rehab Ali Sadek, Executive Director of the GOEIC Carbon Certification Unit, for her efforts in issuing Carbon Footprint Report to ATICO Wood Industries Factory, and granting certificates of appreciation to the appreciated persons from ATICO and the GOEIC for their efforts exerted to develop and modernize production lines according to the green economy latest mechanisms and environmental sustainability.

At the end of the meeting, MG. Eng. Mokhtar Abdel Latif thanked Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and General Organization of Export and Import Control for their support to all aspects of joint cooperation and thanked all those who contributed to such achievement, noting that this cooperation is considered a starting point for enhancing future cooperation in other industrial and investment fields.