“Rachid Mohamed Rachid said the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement between Egypt, Israel and the United States would be extended to include several provinces in southern Egypt provinces, traditionally a poorer area of the country…The QIZ deal, implemented in 2005, allows Egypt to export from the zones to the United States free of tariffs and quotas as long as a certain percentage of Israeli goods is used. It aims to promote economic cooperation between Israel and Egypt…Egypt’s textile and clothing exports to the United States have risen sharply since the deal…Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel after talks hosted by the United States…”It is planned that there will be an agreement with the American side for an expansion of the QIZ to incorporate a number of southern provinces to benefit from the protocol,” Rachid told the newspaper…Rachid said QIZ exports to the United States stood at $872 million in 2008, the paper reported..

Date:5/26/2009

Source:Reuters