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

Within the framework of the directives of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade to support the digital transformation in the foreign trade system and enhance efforts to facilitate trade exchange between Egypt and African countries, Eng. Essam El-Naggar, President of the GOEIC, received a delegation from the General Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) to discuss preparations for launching an operational pilot for the electronic exchange of certificates of origin.

The meeting was held in light of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Secretariat’s plan to launch a Pilot Phase for the unified electronic platform, for the purpose of issuance and exchange of certificates of origin electronically, contributing to overcoming a number of challenges related to the Intra-African Trade, most notably reducing time, effort and costs resulting from paper procedures, and enhancing transparency and accuracy of data and information.

The meeting witnessed a discussion of mechanisms of implementing the experiment with participation of Egypt and a number of African countries, within the framework of supporting continental trade integration and facilitating the movement of exports and imports between member states of AFCFTA, which enhances opportunities for access to African markets and supports the objectives of increasing Intra-African Trade rates within the continent.

During the meeting, the GOEIC reviewed its technological and technical capabilities and its advanced digital infrastructure that qualifies to participate effectively in implementing the operational experiment. The GOEIC affirmed its full readiness to cooperate with the Secretariat of AFCFTA to ensure the success of the Pilot Phase, guaranteeing the speed and accuracy of exchanging certificates of origin electronically in accordance with the standards and requirements of the organization. 

Engineer Essam El-Naggar stressed that the GOEIC pays great attention to supporting the state’s efforts in digital transformation and facilitating trade, noting that automating certificates of origin represents an important step towards developing work mechanisms, reducing paperwork procedures, and raising the efficiency of the foreign trade system, which will positively affect the movement of Egyptian exports to African markets.

For its part, the Secretariat of AFCFTA praised the readiness of the GOEIC, both in terms of technological capabilities and technical capacities, appreciating the GOEIC’s keenness to participate effectively in achieving success of the experiment and supporting efforts of facilitating trade among African countries. 

This cooperation reflects the role of the GOEIC in supporting the Egyptian state’s directions towards strengthening African economic integration and developing the system of trade and regulatory services, in line with the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its efforts to increase the volume of intra-continental trade.