Hamaki:Egypt, Tunisia seek new horizons of cooperation

Dr. Youmn El-Hamaki, Professor of Economics at Ain-Shams University, said that the Egyptian-Tunisian relations are important

Dr. Youmn El-Hamaki, Professor of Economics at Ain-Shams University, said that the Egyptian-Tunisian relations are important specifically in a time where the Arab countries and the world are witnessing repercussions of COVID19 as well as the Russia-Ukraine crisis which added to the gloomy picture of the political and economic situation in the whole world.

In a phone call with (The Breakfast Show), Hamaki added that the relations between Egypt and Tunisia are exceptionally strong and are gaining more importance since it has different dimensions; we share Arab and African relationships in addition to the Tunisian-European agreements which can open for us a new market.

Further, she pointed out that the Egyptian-Tunisian Higher Committee’s role is to organize and specify priorities, and to manage obstacles which may confront their work, believing that the visit of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli is to discuss to what extent we are moving forward towards activating our relationship.

She affirmed the importance of enhancing the size of trade, investment and the different types of investments. This is in addition to providing ways to build accumulated comparative advantage between the two sides. The economist believed that to address the economic challenges confronting the world, one of the main solutions is economic integration. “We have the experience of the EU countries and how they build the economic integration among themselves,” she said.

As for the Egyptian-Tunisian cooperation, Hamaki assured that a lot has to be done in different fields; such as arranging and exchanging experiences in the health sector in addition to cooperation in manufacturing vaccines. The two countries have to think globally, to compete with each other and to enhance their competitiveness which may open opportunities for unemployed youth and women in both countries and can be extended to the manufacturing sector especially textiles and ready-made garments. We can open markets in Europe by taking advantage of the Agadir Agreement for instance - the Agadir Agreement is a free trade agreement between Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia-

Finally, she pinpointed that all the previous examples represented our potentialities for enhancing our relations and this may be a cornerstone for the security of our country.

The 17th edition of the Egyptian-Tunisian Higher Committee kicked off Friday under Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and his Tunisian counterpart Najla Bouden. The committee witnessed the signing of 11 agreements between both nations in several fields, including health, education, agriculture and technology.