Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia to ink memo to facilitate trade

Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia - the signatories of the Agadir Agreement for free trade - are preparing a draft memorandum of understanding for exchanging information to up trade exchange among the four states.

A meeting of IT senior officials at customs authorities of the four states opened in Cairo on Tuesday and would wrap up work on Thursday.

The meeting will address means of facilitating trade among the four states, said the chairman of the Egyptian Customs Authority.

Magdy Abdel Aziz accentuated that Egypt and other Agadir signatory states seek to realize Arab integration.

The Agadir Agreement is a free trade agreement between Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. Named after the Moroccan city of Agadir, where the process to set up the pact was launched in May 2001, it was signed in Rabat in February 2004 and came into force in March 2007.

The Agadir Agreement is open to further membership by all Arab countries that are members of the Arab League and the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, and linked to the EU through an Association Agreement or an FTA. Its purpose is to facilitate integration between Arab states and the EU under the broader EU-Mediterranean process, but it has other ramifications as well.