Egypt is working on setting up number of online platforms for e-commerce that aim to boosting trade exchange with countries that have trade agreements with Egypt, especially in Africa, Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said.

Gamea made her comments on Thursday during a virtual monthly meeting organised by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).

The minister said that Africa is a promising market for Egypt in the current period, while the Egyptian market is a window for Europe to access the African market.

Regarding an initiative that the ministry has launched recently to replace old vehicles with modern ones that run on natural gas instead of gasoline, Gamea said that it aims to support national manufacturing and to make ultimate use of Egypt’s natural gas discoveries.

The initiative also aims at boosting the country’s tendency to bank on renewable energy sources and natural gas instead of gasoline and petrol, through which economic and financial abundance can be preserved, in addition to keeping environment safe and clean, according to the minister.

She added that the initiative will cover all old vehicles, especially those which were made 20 years ago, and Egypt is working to provide the infrastructure and the legislative base to enhance it.

AmCham’s president Sherif Kamel said that the Egyptian government should put forward a holistic vision for the post COVID-19 phase that could help tackle the impacts the crisis has created.

He added that Egypt has managed to implement several industrial projects, establish a number of big industrial complexes and attract investments to them, adding that the trade and industry sector is one of the key supportive sectors of the Egyptian economy.

He also said that there is a need to make use of the challenges that the COVID-19 crisis imposes through implementing digital transformation projects.