Egypt Independent
Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour said the Agadir Agreement between Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia should be reviewed in order to maximize its benefit.
“Although seven years have passed since the signing of the agreement, it has not born any fruit in terms of the volume of mutual investments between the member states,” he said.
“All barriers and obstacles that impede trade should be removed,” he added. “For the relationship between the member states is one of cooperation and not competition.”
Named after the Moroccan city of Agadir, where the process to set up the pact was launched in May 2001, the agreement was signed in Rabat in February 2004 and came into force in March 2007.
It aims at boosting trade between its member states, fostering economic development and integration through the implementation of rules of origin, and attracting EU and international Foreign Direct Investments (FDI).
The Agadir Agreement increased the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Morocco Tunisia, and Jordan to about US$270 million in 2013 compared to $126 million during the year 2011.
