Progress made on live exports during the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Egypt has been welcomed by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed.

A renewal of live trade with Egypt moved a step closer today (Wednesday, December 5) as the issues around existing health certificates for Irish exports were discussed at a meeting in Cairo between Minister of State Pat Breen and Deputy Minister for Agriculture Dr. Mona Mehrez.

The Egyptian Ministry is willing to consider amending existing health certificates and putting a new certificate for breeding stock in place.

Further to preparatory work by the Department of Agriculture, Bord Bia and Sustainable Food Systems Ireland (SFSI), the Egyptian authorities have indicated an interest in re-establishing live imports from Ireland, as well as cooperation in other areas.

Minister Creed commented, stating: “I welcome the progress made in Cairo today, which follows from a meeting of my department with the deputy minister during her visit to Ireland in July.

“I look forward to expanding our live trade with Egypt. As a key growth sector in Irish agriculture, my officials will continue to identify other markets for live exports in North Africa and elsewhere.”

Minister for Trade, Employment and Business Pat Breen is currently leading the Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission in Cairo with 12 Irish companies.

Commenting on the positive developments, Minister Breen said: “It is welcome and timely that this progress comes during the first ministerial trade mission to Egypt in eight years.

Ireland is keen to develop its agricultural trade relations with Egypt, so the revised certificates will be a great boost.

I am certain that there are also significant opportunities for Irish companies in the aviation, industrial sub-supply, ICT, fin-tech, medical devices and engineering sectors.

“My aim is to highlight Ireland as a key source of top-class, high-quality, innovative products and services,” Minister Breen concluded.

The purpose of the Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission is to expand trade links in Egypt, not only as a market for Irish companies but also as a hub for accessing the Middle East and East Africa regions.