Egypt cooperates with WTO to save Bali trade agreement

Egypt says it is working towards providing a compromise deal to save last year's WTO Bali agreement, which has stalled since India opposed the deal on the basis of food security concerns, announced Mounir Fakhry, minister of trade, industry and small and medium enterprises, in a press conference on Tuesday.
Roberto Azevedo, director general of the World Trade Organisation, says that Egypt's status as a leading developing country qualifies it as a mediator in the dispute.

"Egypt is one of the developing countries that does not mind trade facilitation but has concerns over food security, yet the question is how to address the concerns without hindering the Bali agreement," Azevedo said at Tuesday's conference.

The press conference followed Azevedo's meeting with Egypt's Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab and comes before his meeting with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to discuss Egypt's role in progressing with the Bali agreement.

At the end of last year, WTO members agreed in Bali on a legally binding trade facilitation agreement expected to benefit the world economy with a value between $400 billion and $1 trillion and reduce trade costs by 10-15 percent.