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

As a part of the State’s strategy to increase Egyptian exports and enhance the competitiveness of the national product, and in implementation of the policy of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade aimed at alleviating the burdens on the business community and facilitating the access of Egyptian products to international markets, and the directives of Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, to enhance integration between the bodies concerned with industry and export and to provide technical support to exporters; the GOEIC signed a cooperation protocol with the Industrial Modernization Center of the Ministry of Industry. 

The protocol was signed by Mr. Ayman Al-Bayaa, Executive Director of the Industrial Modernization Center, and Engineer Essam El Naggar, Chairman of the GOEIC within the framework of the joint efforts of the Ministries of Investment, Foreign Trade and Industry to link financing, qualification and technical services tools within an integrated system to support industrial and exporting companies.

The protocol aims to reduce the costs of testing and technical services required for companies to obtain quality and conformity certificates, and to raise their readiness to meet the technical and environmental requirements of the target markets, in addition to enhancing their capabilities through technical consultations, training programs and capacity building.

Under the protocol, the GOEIC provides preferential rates to clients of the Industrial Modernization Center to benefit from its specialized services, including testing, examination, inspection, conformity assessment, verification, environmental certification, and technical consultations, as well as capacity-building programs offered by GOEIC’s Center of Excellence.

This cooperation comes as a complement to the system of supporting industrial companies, through which the Export Development Fund, affiliated with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, provides the necessary funding for programs dedicated to supporting companies in obtaining quality, conformity, sustainability and environmental compliance certificates, while the Industrial Modernization Center is responsible for qualifying companies, managing, implementing and monitoring the programs, identifying needs and addressing technical gaps.

Last June, the Industrial Modernization Center and Exports Development Fund signed a cooperation agreement with funding of up to 557 million pounds, aimed at supporting about 200 industrial facilities in seven key export sectors, that will contribute to reducing the cost of qualification and raising the readiness of companies to access international markets.

The cooperation protocol with the GOEIC complements the technical aspect of this system by making its expertise and specialized infrastructure available to companies that the Industrial Modernization Center is responsible for qualifying, thus providing an integrated path that begins with financing and identifying needs, then addressing technical gaps, qualification and capacity building, and finally conducting tests, examinations, conformity assessment and meeting export requirements.

The GOIEC’s system includes 323 laboratories and more than four thousand accredited tests, that supports the ability of companies to verify that their products conform to approved specifications and standards, and meet the technical requirements of the target markets.

The services provided also include conformity assessment in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17065, pre-shipment inspection in accordance with the international standard ISO/IEC 17020, along with environmental verification and certification services related to environmental data, practices and sustainability.

In this context, Mr. Ayman Al-Bayaa stressed that the protocol aims to support exporting companies and those being qualified for export in compliance with international requirements and standards, explaining that linking the financing of the Export Development Fund with the qualification programs implemented by the Industrial Modernization Center and the technical services provided by the GOEIC contributes to reducing the burdens on companies and facilitating their obtaining the necessary quality and conformity certificates to access foreign markets.

He added that the preferential prices set for the center’s clients allow companies to benefit more from the GOEIC’s laboratories and technical expertise, which supports product development and raises the efficiency of industrial sectors and their ability to export sustainably.

On his part, Engineer Essam El Naggar affirmed that the protocol reflects the integration of roles between national bodies concerned with supporting industry and exports, and provides a practical framework for employing the GOEIC’s capabilities and technical expertise in supporting the business community and exporters.

He explained that testing, inspection, and conformity assessment services, along with consulting and capacity-building programs, help companies improve the quality of their products, identify the technical and regulatory requirements of target markets, and address gaps that may limit the penetration of their exports.

President of the GOEIC demonstrated that enhancing integration between financing, qualification and technical services would raise the readiness of companies to export and increase the reliability of the Egyptian product, which supports its competitiveness and contributes to increasing exports and opening new markets.

The protocol represents a step that supports the state’s efforts to provide an integrated system to serve industrial and exporting companies, reduce the cost and duration of qualification, and raise the quality of Egyptian products and their ability to meet the requirements of international markets.