MINSK, 27 February (BelTA) – The use of trading exchange will make it much easier for Egyptian companies to operate on the Belarusian market, as they will get direct access to local enterprises, Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) Aleksandr Osmolovsky said as he met with top management of Egypt’s KATO Investment. The Egyptian holding company seeks accreditation at BUCE to carry out export and import operations with Belarus, BUCE press secretary Roman Yaniv told BelTA.
“As of today, almost 26,000 Belarusian enterprises from all key sectors of industry and agriculture are accredited with BUCE. We receive tens of thousands of purchase and sale requests every day. Therefore, trading exchange is in most cases a one-stop-shop for foreign companies that want to operate on the Belarusian market. In addition to that, we have a simplified accreditation procedure for resident companies from 22 countries, which increases the attractiveness of the exchange platform. Egypt is not on this list yet, but we are ready to work on it as part of efforts to promote Belarus-Egypt exchange trade,” noted Aleksandr Osmolovsky.
The parties exchanged views on the practical aspects of the implementation of the agreements reached and outlined a list of goods to be traded through the exchange platform. In particular, there are plans to supply Belarusian lumber, dairy products, sugar, vegetable oils and synthetic fiber to Egypt, and import Egyptian polymer products, cotton yarn, fruit and vegetables to Belarus.
According to the founder of KATO Investment Ibrahim Kamel, these commodity items will make the basis for the further interaction between the Egyptian holding company and the trading exchange. In fact, Belarus and Egypt have much more common interests in trade.
“In my opinion, now is a particularly favorable time to step up trade and economic relations between Belarus and Egypt, and the exchange trade is an integral part of this process. Our company has many years of experience in international trade, including with the Republic of Belarus; and we are very well familiar with all the commodity items that we have identified as our priorities. The main thing is to take the first step and get accredited to participate in trading sessions. I am confident that the exchange mechanism will fit perfectly into our business model and will make our operations on the Belarusian market more efficient,” the Egyptian businessman believes.
As of 1 February 2024, five Egyptian companies were accredited at BUCE. Most of the transactions dealt with the import of woodworking products from Belarus.
