Egypt signs protocol to export grapes to China

Egyptian and Chinese officials signed on Tuesday a cooperation protocol granting Egyptian grapes access to the Chinese market, an official source from the Chinese embassy in Cairo told Xinhua.

The protocol was signed by officials from Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in the capital Cairo.

The signing ceremony was attended by Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Essam Fayed and Chinese Ambassador to Cairo Song Aiguo, as well as several other Egyptian and Chinese officials.

The Egyptian minister told the signing ceremony that the agreement is a good step to bolster joint cooperation between the two countries especially in the agricultural field, stressing that China's experience in several fields is a model to be followed by other countries.

The bilateral trade volume between Egypt and China has increased from 6.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2011 to 12.9 billion in 2015 despite Egypt's economic recession over the past five years.

Egypt and China enjoy growing bilateral relations and both have been celebrating 2016 as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, with the leaders of the two countries and high-profile delegations at all levels have been meeting frequently over the past couple of years. Endit