An agreement was concluded today in Cairo, signed by the Italian Ambassador, Michele Quaroni, and the Egyptian Minister of Transport, Kamel el Wazir, for the start of a maritime freight line between the Italian port of Trieste and the Egyptian port of Damietta. The line will make the exchange of goods by sea between Italy and Egypt quicker, by creating a really safe fast track.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hon. Antonio Tajani, said: “With this agreement, we aim to strengthen Italy’s role as a privileged channel of trade in the Euro-Mediterranean region and to increase trade between Italy and Egypt.” He added that the agreement “will also be useful to open up new investment opportunities in Egypt for the Italian supply chain in priority sectors such as agribusiness and textiles.”
The importance of the project had already been underlined during the system mission led by the Deputy Prime Minister last March, which had seen the participation of important Italian companies.
Speaking by video link at the signing ceremony, the President of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE), Matteo Zoppas, who helped to facilitate contacts with the port of Trieste, recalled that the agreement is also useful for the strategy designed to strengthen ties between our country, Europe and the African continent, in line with the Mattei Plan.
Italian products – with specific reference to agri-foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and textiles – will in fact be able to easily reach not only the Egyptian market but also the African and Middle Eastern markets, thanks to the strategic geographical position of Egypt, which offers the possibility of reaching a potential market of one billion consumers.
