By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to visit Azerbaijan by late 2017.

The main issue on the agenda of the Baku- Cairo relations for the near future is the preparation to the official visit of Fattah al-Sisi to Baku, Azerbaijani ambassador to Egypt Tural Rzayev told Trend on July 12.

This fall, the parties at the level of diplomatic departments plan to intensify the preparations for the visit, which may take place before the end of the year.

The visit at such a high level will give a great impetus to the development of cooperation between the two countries in all spheres, the diplomat noted.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was previously invited to the 4th Global Forum of Open Societies, which was held in Baku on March 2016. However, because of the busy schedule his visit did not take place.

Today, the main areas of the Baku-Cairo bilateral cooperation are energy, tourism, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals, where Egypt has great experience.

In general, the volume of trade between the two countries for the past five or six years has amounted to about $5 billion, Rzayev noted, adding that both countries have great potential for growth in trade,.

Azerbaijan also intends to intensify efforts to promote the Made in Azerbaijan brand in Egypt and expand the opportunities for the Egyptian business to enter Azerbaijani market.

The volume of trade between the two countries in January-May 2017 amounted to $3.5 million, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan. The turnover increased by 40 percent compared to the same period last year.

The basis of Egypt’s exports to Azerbaijan contains medicines, clothes, rice, frozen vegetables, foodstuff, ceramics, marble and veterinary medicines. As for the Azerbaijan’s exports to Egypt, predominantly, oil and chemical products, geophysics equipment, spare parts, pipes and so on.