Investment Minister Mohamed Farid held meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Trade Ministers meeting.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organization that aims to increase economic cooperation between emerging markets in the Global South. It includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
Egypt has been a BRICS member state since 2024.
During the meetings, Farid emphasized that Egypt was keen to revive its business councils with several BRICS members.
Egypt, India eye deeper trade, investment ties
Minister of Investment Mohamed Farid met with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal to discuss bilateral trade, joint investments, and technology transfer.
Farid also discussed strengthening cooperation between Egypt and India in pharmaceutical manufacturing, including oncology drugs and immunosuppressants. He also discussed potential cooperation between the two nations in manufacturing fertilizers.
Egypt aims to attract Indian investment in production projects. It hopes to increase trade with India to $12 billion within the next five years. As of 2025, Egypt and India’s trade volume recorded around $4.18 billion.
The Egyptian government aims to increase annual exports to $115.8 billion by 2030 and raise non-oil exports by 15–20 percent annually through 2030.
During the first eleven months of FY2025/2026, which ended at the end of June 2026, Egypt's trade deficit narrowed by 7.6 percent to almost EGP 1 trillion.
Moreover, Farid discussed convening the seventh session of the Egyptian-Indian Joint Trade Committee in 2026. He revealed that both sides have discussed plans to establish an Indian Industrial Zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).
Egypt’s investment minister also met with members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI), which includes firms such as TCI Sanmar Chemicals, clean energy developer Ocior Energy, optical fiber integrator Sterlite, conglomerate ITC Limited, and petroleum refining and marketing firm Reliance Industries.
Farid urged Indian companies to take advantage of Egypt’s location and free trade agreements to establish large-scale investment projects in manufacturing chemicals, energy and electricity grids, food processing, strategic grain storage, consumer goods, and infrastructure.
UAE cooperation targets digital transformation
Egypt’s investment minister discussed plans to develop digital transformation and automation of government services with his Emirati counterpart, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.
Egypt plans to draw on the UAE’s expertise in developing digital platforms to streamline service delivery and procedures for investors.
The two sides also discussed increasing investments, trade partnerships, and joint initiatives.
The UAE has recently increased investments in the Egyptian market, especially in real estate projects such as Ras El-Hekma.
Trade between the two countries reached around $9.68 billion in 2025. Egyptian exports to the UAE rose to around $6.88 billion in 2025, up from $1.22 billion in 2021, marking a 475 percent increase. Egyptian imports from the UAE rose to $2.69 billion in 2025, up from $2.46 billion in 2021.
A delegation from the UAE International Investors Council (UAEIIC) is expected to visit Egypt to explore available and new investment instruments and discuss establishing new partnerships across priority sectors, such as advanced infrastructure and industrial and logistics zones.
Egypt seeks greater access to Chinese market
On the sidelines of the BRICS meeting, Farid met with China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Li Chenggang, with whom he discussed increasing Egyptian exports’ access to the Chinese market and Chinese investments in productive sectors in Egypt.
The two sides also discussed the participation of Egyptian companies in the China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) and the China International Import Expo (CIIE). They also discussed the best ways Egyptian companies can benefit from China's full exemption of Egyptian exports from tariffs.
China is one of Egypt’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching $19.52 billion in 2025.
Egypt, Russia discuss grain cooperation
Farid also held a meeting with Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilichev to discuss expanding work in the grain sector.
Cairo is working to strengthen its strategic grain reserves, diversify wheat sources, and expand local procurement. Russia has remained Egypt’s leading wheat supplier in recent years, accounting for a significant share of purchases made through both state tenders and private contracts.
Egyptian exports to Russia increased from $485 million in 2021 to approximately $811 million by 2025, representing an increase of around 66 percent, while the trade volume between the two nations reached $5.7 billion in 2025.
Egypt, Brazil explore biofuel, energy partnerships
Similarly, Egypt's investment minister held talks with Brazilian Minister of Industrial Development, Trade, and Services Márcio Fernando Elias Rosa, with whom he discussed cooperation in tourism, trade, and energy refining.
The two sides plan to increase cooperation in manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel to establish Egypt as a regional hub for supplying ships with low-carbon fuels, specifically providing biofuels to vessels transiting the Suez Canal.
Egypt plans to rely on Brazil to provide technical presentations on the product and its advantages.
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