We are keen to maximize the benefits of the Suez Canal’s
great economic value to enhance Egypt's position as a global trade and logistic
hub, Gamea said.
Dubai- Jan 16, 2022
Minister of Trade and Industry
Nevine Gamea has taken part in a panel discussion organized by the Egypt
pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, entitled "Suez Canal Supporting Global Trade
Against Different Challenges".
The event discusses the policies
and procedures adopted by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to ensure the
continuity of the canal’s services as well as the sustainability of
international trade, under the current major global changes and challenges. It
also sheds light on the various roles played by Egyptian entities to achieve the
country’s global trade vision.
The panel speakers included: Osama
Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA); Yehia Zaki, head of the Suez
Canal Economic Zone; Guy platten, secretary-general of the International
Chamber of Shipping; Henriette Hallberg, CEO of Fleet and Strategic Brands at
AP Mollar (Maersk); Keiji Tomoda, vice president of JSA and chairman of Canals
Sub-Committee (ICS); Yasser Zaghloul, CEO of the National Marine Dredging
Company; and Khaled Abubakr, the SCA legal consultant.
Gamea expressed the government’s
keenness to maximize the benefits of the Suez Canal’s great economic value, both
at the regional and international levels, to enhance Egypt’s position as a
global trade and logistic hub, especially in light of its strategic location on
the world map as the shortest route between the East and the West, and the link
between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
The minister noted that the canal also
connects production centers in the Far East with distribution and consumption hubs
in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, boosting Egypt’s trade ties with
various countries of the world and facilitating access of its exports to all
foreign markets.
The event, she added, is of great
importance as it coincides with the executive measures taken to enhance joint
cooperation between the ministry, the SCA and the Suez Canal Economic Zone in
order to crystallize the country’s vision of supporting global trade,
especially in the midst of the challenges it is facing; in a way that contributes
to the government’s structural reform strategies and economic policies, and
supports the implementation of its economic and social reform program launched in
2016.
Gamea explained that the Suez Canal,
as one of the key commercial waterways in the world and the fastest transit
route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, allows a speedy, low-cost
transportation of goods, which results in reduced final costs of imported products.
The canal is of great importance in the field of maritime navigation worldwide,
with maritime transport accounting for 90% of the global trade volume, 12% of which
passes through the Suez Canal as well as some 22% of container trade.
She pointed out that the political
leadership, appreciating the canal’s pivotal role in the national economy, dug
the New Suez Canal in 2015, which helped reduce the transit time for shipping
lines and had a positive impact on producers and consumers around the world.
The Egyptian government, she
further added, has taken exceptional measures to keep local production rolling,
facilitate the flow of international trade and avoid disrupting supply chains
during the pandemic, through streamlining customs clearing procedures in
coordination with the ministries of finance and transport.