Egypt reiterated its commitment to advancing cooperation with South Sudan in all fields, underscoring the directives of the Egyptian political leadership to support the Juba government.
On Friday, Egypt's Ambassador in Juba Moataz Moustafa Abdel Kader met with Minister of Trade and Industry of South Sudan Kuol Athian Mawein.
They discussed ways to advance cooperation in the fields of trade and industry between their countries, read a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Abdel Kader stressed the strength of the bilateral relations between Cairo and Juba and he underscored the directives of the Egyptian political leadership to develop all forms of cooperation with South Sudan.
He reviewed Egypt’s efforts to boost commercial cooperation with South Sudan, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the field of trade and industry last year, the organization of the first edition of the “Made in Egypt” exhibition in South Sudan to introduce Egyptian products, and the opening of the first branch of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) in Juba last month.
Egypt and South Sudan share close relations. Cairo seeks to support the young state by providing the main basics to the government.
The Ministry statement said Athian expressed his gratitude for Egypt's support.
He said South Sudan aspires to complete the discussions held last year between the two countries’ ministries of trade and industry during the Egyptian-South Sudanese higher committee meeting.
The two sides discussed means to intensify training programs, capacity building and transfer of expertise in the trade and industry sectors, as well as prospects for upgrading the legal framework regulating the current trade and industrial cooperation.
They tackled potential opportunities for cooperation in the field of industrialization in South Sudan given the promising investment opportunities, especially in the areas of livestock, fishery resources, mining and pharmaceutical industry.
