Investment minister, WTO chief discuss measures to boost Egyptian exports

Mohamed Farid, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, met with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on the sidelines of the 2026 World Investment Forum in Doha, Qatar. The meeting was attended by Mohamed Awad, CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). The discussions focused on developments in the international trading system, the impact of protectionist measures on trade flows, ways to mitigate their effects and priorities for reforming the multilateral trading system. The talks also addressed ways to support Egypt’s efforts to increase exports and expand access to international markets. Farid said that growing trade restrictions and geopolitical disruptions were affecting global trade flows and limiting export access to several major markets.

He stressed the importance of taking the circumstances of emerging economies into account when implementing trade measures. He explained that some measures designed to address excess production capacity in certain countries could also affect developing economies with relatively small shares of importing markets, despite differences in their production conditions and competitive positions. Farid stressed the importance of enabling Egyptian farmers, fishers and manufacturers to access international markets by accounting for differences in production conditions when applying trade measures, thereby strengthening their competitiveness abroad. He noted that producers in several economies faced challenges related to energy and production costs, as well as international competition. This made it necessary to distinguish between countries’ differing circumstances when designing trade measures and avoid imposing additional burdens on emerging industries. Regarding WTO…