The Egyptian Customs Authority has signed a cooperation protocol with the Egyptian Commercial Service as part of the government’s efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy.

Ahmed Kouchouk, Minister of Finance, and Hassan El-Khatib, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, emphasized the importance of deepening bilateral coordination to facilitate trade flows, reduce customs clearance times, and leverage the Egyptian Commercial Service to enhance the efficiency of the joint risk management system and accelerate customs clearance procedures.

The two ministers added that the coming phase will see expanded cooperation between the Customs Authority and the Egyptian Commercial Service in the automated valuation of goods, through direct communication with foreign manufacturers and suppliers.

This will also help streamline procedures for verifying the accuracy of data and commercial documents related to Egyptian imports.

Ahmed Amwi, Head of the Customs Authority, stated that the protocol comes within the framework of developing the customs operating system, noting that cooperation with the Egyptian Commercial Service represents a core pillar in supporting pre- and post-clearance verification mechanisms for commercial documents and data.

 This cooperation, he added, ensures information accuracy while speeding up and simplifying procedures.

Abdel Aziz El-Sherif, Head of the Egyptian Commercial Service, explained that signing the protocol strengthens the existing cooperation between the two sides.

 He highlighted the pivotal role played by commercial offices abroad in supporting verification requests related to certificates of origin and commercial invoices submitted by the Customs Authority, contributing to improved efficiency of the foreign trade system.