Bangladesh, Egypt to launch direct flights in April

Direct flights between Bangladesh and Egypt will be launched in April, said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam. 

The move comes as the Bangladesh government agreed with the Egyptian government to develop economic relations between the two countries, reports the MENAFN. 

Shahriar Alam also noted that Bangladesh is also in discussions with Egypt regarding the signing of a free trade agreement to cancel customs tariffs, which will bolster bilateral trade.

The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) Chairperson Ibrahim Al-Araby said that intra-regional trade witnessed a decline during the past years, and despite the diversity of the commodity mix of joint trade, it did not rise to the depth of the political and historical relations between the two countries.

He added that trade balance between the two countries reached only $132.5 million in 2020 — in favour of the Egyptian side — with total exports worth approximately $88 million.

Al-Araby explained that the most important Egyptian exports to Bangladesh were concentrated in raw cotton, some types of fruits and vegetables, ready-made clothes, vegetable seeds, and some chemical industries, while Egyptian imports from Bangladesh were primarily tableware and some types of ready-made clothes.