Health Ministry will sign a new agreement with the Lebanese Health Ministry over establishing medicine factories in a partnership between investors from the two countries.
Minister Ahmed Emad Eddin met with his Lebanese counterpart Ghassan Hasbani to formulate the final form of the cooperation agreement, on the sidelines of the Arab Health Economic Forum, organized by the Arab Hospitals Federation, in Beirut.
In a statement, Emad Eddin said the agreement includes opening new medicine factories by Egyptian and Lebanese investments in addition to expanding the entrance of pharmaceutical products and medical requirements to Lebanese markets.
The agreement, according to the minister, should be signed soon by the first visit of Lebanese officials to Egypt. He added that the agreement will allow the exchange of expertise in this field as well as others.
It will also facilitate the registration of medicines at the two countries, he said.
The Lebanese market is one of the main international targeted ones for Egyptian exporters, especially that Lebanon has the highest expenditure rate on medicine across the Arab countries. The rate is expected to be doubled due to the high presence of Syrian refugees there.
Egyptian companies at the pharmaceutical, medical requirements and cosmetics sectors achieved exports at LE31 million to Lebanon during the first nine months of 2016.
A source from the Export Council of Medical Industries indicated intentions to pay more attention to African markets to achieve the highest profits of the trade agreements signed with African countries.
Egyptian medical exports, according to the source, are very few as the Lebanese consumers mainly depend on European products.
