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

Engineer Essam El-Naggar, President of the General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC), confirmed that expanding the exporter base and enhancing the readiness of Egyptian companies to access foreign markets are on the top priorities of the GOEIC, within the policy of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and the directives of Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, while also supporting the objectives of Egypt’s Vision 2030.

This took place during his meeting on "Export Pioneers" program hosted by journalist Omar Abdel Hamid on Al-Shams Channel (click here to watch the interview), whereas he reviewed the GOEIC's efforts to support the business community, enhance inspection and testing services, and streamline procedures for exporters and importers.

The GOEIC's President explained that "Egypt Launches with Exports" Initiative aims at reaching companies and factories inside the governorates, identifying their needs and the challenges they face, and work qualifying the non-exporting companies to commence export activities. He referred that the initiative’s fourth phase targets the governorates of Beni Suef, Fayoum, and Minya through the direct communication and field visits in cooperation with concerned entities.

As for supporting the small-scale exporters, he demonstrated the directives issued by the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade to conduct inspection and testing of the first sample will be free of charge. He explained that concessions offered to small-scale exporters may reach up to 50%, helping to reduce testing costs and encourage companies to enter foreign markets.

He emphasized that making the required tests available and conducting them in Egypt before the shipments reach the ports helps reduce costs and enhance the products' export readiness. He reviewed that the GOEIC owns approximately 323 laboratories covering various industrial and food sectors, and it continues to upgrade its equipment while expanding the scope of testing and accreditation to meet the requirements of target markets. He added that the GOEIC had inspected over 540,000 samples during the first eight months of 2026.

Regarding digital transformation, the GOEIC's President explained that the GOEIC offers more than 18 electronic services and it works to fully digitize its services for exporters and importers by the end of 2026, consequently enabling procedures to be completed directly from company premises. He also noted that the GOEIC enables issuance of certificates of origin entirely online without visiting the GOEIC's premises.

He demonstrated the role of the Center of Excellence in training companies on trade agreements, rules of origin, and the market requirements, as well as the foreign trade data repository services that helps the exporter identify target markets and recognize the demand for their products, thereby supporting taking export decisions based on information

The meeting addressed efforts to enhance the risk management system to direct the inspection specifically to the shipments requiring these inspections while reducing release times and costs for companies. The meeting also that the companies meeting the criteria for documentary release, registered with the GOEIC's visual inspection lists can benefit from release within 24 hours, along with continuing random inspections to verify the conformity.

Engineer Essam El-Naggar concluded the meeting through emphasizing that developing the laboratories and digital services, providing the information and training, and streamlining the procedures represent an integrated system to support Egyptian companies and enhance their ability to compete and continue their presence in international markets, thereby increasing the exports and expanding the exporter base.