The details of the bilateral trade carried out between India and Egypt during each of the last three years and the current year is given below:-

As on 21/8/2013

Value: US $ Millions

Source: DGCIS

During the first meeting of the Joint Egypt-India Trade Committee held in Cairo on 10th March, 2013 the two sides agreed to work towards the target of achieving a total trade of US$ 8 billion by 31st March, 2016. Towards this end, varchnical file of Indian wheat has been submitted to Egyptian authorities to pay a way for exports of Indian wheat to Egypt. ious steps have been taken, some of which are listed below:-

• Five Joint Study Groups (JSGs) on Trade, Standardization and origin issues, Industrial Cooperation & SMEs, Pharmaceuticals, and Agriculture have been set up.
• The Joint Business Council (JBC) mechanism has been activated with the last meeting of the JBC being held during the visit of President of Egypt to India in March, 2013.
• A technical file of Indian wheat has been submitted to Egyptian authorities to pave a way for exports of Indian wheat to Egypt. Also cooperation in the field of Fertilizer is being explored
• Multi-sectoral as well as sector specific Trade Fairs are being organized in Egypt. With fairs in the area of pharmaceuticals and textiles having been planned in 2014.

The first Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference was held on 4-5 July, 2013, in Mauritius. Text of the statement issued at the end of the conference is attached.

In the 7th Commerce Secretary level talks with Pakistan held on 20-21 September, 2012 at Islamabad, both countries appreciated that better trading opportunities provided through land route would enhance mutual prosperity of the business communities and consumers on both sides of the border. It was also, noted that there is need to further strengthen infrastructure on both sides and to resolve all the issues through mutual cooperation, harmonization of customs procedures, provision of laboratory facilities, scanners, weigh bridges, cold houses, containerized services and automation of the business processes. The need for more trade traffic to be carried through the Railways was also emphasized.

Annex referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2626

1st IOR-ARC Economic and Business Conference held in Mauritius

The Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation held its first Economic and Business Conference in Pointe aux Piments, Mauritius, on July 4 and 5.

The IOR-ARC, which is the only pan-Indian ocean grouping, has 20 members, namely Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

And there are six dialogue partners, namely China, Egypt, France, Japan, and Britain, and the United States, and two observers, namely, the Indian Ocean Research Group and the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization.

Following is the text of the statement issued at the end of the two-day conference:

1. We, the Ministers of Trade, Commerce, and Industry of Member States and Dialogue Partners of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IORARC), met in the Republic of Mauritius, for the First Economic and Business Conference on July 4-5, 2013, under the theme of `Deepening Economic Linkages for Balanced, Inclusive & Sustainable Growth`. The meeting was co-hosted by the Governments of Mauritius and India and brought together Ministers and business representatives from across the Indian Ocean Rim.

2. We recognize that the First IOR-ARC Economic and Business Conference was in keeping with the decisions taken by the IOR Business Forum held in Gurgaon, India, during the IOR-ARC Council of Ministers and Related Meetings in October-November 2012,which recommended that Business-to-Business meetings have an important role to play for expanding trade and commerce between Member States.

3.We are satisfied with the discussions which took place in the four panel sessions, namely, Unlocking the Potential of the Services Sector in the IOR-ARC (ICT, Tourism, Financial Services); Enhancing Trade and Investment in the IOR-ARC; Creating Agri-business linkages, addressing Food Security and Sustainable Development; and Ocean Economy/Blue Economy. We hope that the proposals and ideas raised and agreed to in these sessions can be taken forward by member states.

4. We express concern at the weak global economic environment and observe that the low rates of growth in advanced economies have impacted developing economies through slower international trade and decreased FDI inflows. We stress that Member States should consider and adopt measures, consistent with their WTO obligations to stimulate growth and development in the Indian Ocean region.

5. We undertake to encourage the concept of `Open Regionalism` and identify trade as an integral factor in promoting economic cooperation and development. We urge Member States to harmonize trade practices in line with international norms and take steps to minimize barriers to trade in the Indian Ocean region and emphasize the need to build on the complementarities of our economies and identify key growth sectors.

6. We propose that initiatives taken at this conference should facilitate interaction between trade and investment promotion bodies of Member States. We welcome the IOR-ARC Work Program in Trade Facilitation initiated by Member States and fully support efforts to implement this for boosting intra-IOR-ARC trade and commerce.

7. We noted that the study on "Trade and Investment Prospects of the IOR-ARC in the New Millennium" which was released in 2011 in the Council of Ministers Meeting in Bengaluru, has highlighted ten areas of cooperation namely trade cooperation, tariffs, food sector trade, standards cooperation, regional value chains, mining, pharmaceutical and traditional medicine, coordination among EXIM Banks, investment and trade facilitation. We hope that Member States cooperate further in these sectors and emerging ones such as the ocean economy.  

8. We welcome the participation of business entities particularly in the small and medium size enterprises and entrepreneurs in the First IOR-ARC Economic and Business Conference, emphasize the critical role of the private sector in the success of this conference and call on the IOR Business Forum to turn the challenges into opportunities.

9. We recognize the Indian Ocean as a binding force of the Association and therefore think it is imperative that Member States identify areas of cooperation in harnessing the oceanic resources which could become a pillar to sustain our development efforts.

10. We recognize the value of ongoing dialogue among Ministers of Economy, Trade and Industries as an integral part of economic dialogue involving the National Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. D. Purandeswari in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Bilateral trade target prompts institutional steps to boost commerce through joint study groups, business councils and trade facilitation. To achieve a set bilateral trade target, India and Egypt have activated institutional mechanisms and technical measures: the Joint Business Council, five Joint Study Groups on trade, standards, industrial cooperation, pharmaceuticals and agriculture, submission of a technical file for Indian wheat to facilitate agricultural exports, exploration of fertilizer cooperation, and organisation of multi sectoral and sector specific trade fairs.