Egypt wants to have stronger trade relations with Africa. Steps include taking part in international exhibitions in the African continent and setting up an Egyptian-African free trade zone. The main countries Egypt is interested in are Kenya, Zambia and Ivory Coast.

Challenges include the weakness of the banking sector in many African countries and the poor infrastructure. In addition, the lack of maritime ports is a challenge, since many African countries are landlocked. There is also the problem of a lack of logistical centers that makes establishing permanent exhibitions for Egyptian products more difficult.

The problem is that of improving shipping lines and finding shipping lines that directly target a large number of African markets. Working to make Egypt a leading international trade center in the Middle East requires work to increase the capacities of Egyptian ports in order to attract more container ships as well as working on the development of logistics capabilities and infrastructure to support this trend.

Egypt’s main exports to Africa are engineering industries, pharmaceuticals, chemical garments, food industries, and construction materials. Egypt wants to increase exports to the African continent by 35 per cent in 2017. Other important markets for Egypt’s exports are the United States and European Union countries.