Cairo – Mubasher: Egyptian exports to Italy rose by 3.4% year-on-year during the first eight months of this year, trade minister Amr Nassar said on Thursday.

Exports valued at $1.02 billion in the three-month period ended August, versus $986 million in the same period last year, according to a statement.

On the other hand, Egyptian imports from the Italian market declined to $2.96 billion in the January-August period of 2018, from $3.63 billion in the prior-year period, Nassar added.

This came on the sidelines of a meeting held in Cairo between the minister and an Italian delegate representing 25 major Italian firms.

For his part, Ashraf Rashid, a member of the board of the Italian Egyptian Business Council, said that the visit of the Italian delegate aims at strengthening the economic relations between Italy and the Mediterranean countries, including Egypt.

Italy is one of Egypt’s main trade partners in the world as trade exchange between both countries reached around $5 billion, he noted.