Egypt's investments in Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have reached $7.9 billion distributed in 62 projects, head of the Regional Investment Agency Heba Salama said Thursday. She made those remarks on the sidelines of the Africa 2017 Forum, currently taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh. "Egypt's trade with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) registered $5.4 billion in 2016," Salama added. "Around $2.9 billion were exports from Egypt to COMESA countries, while $2.5 billion were imports," Salama told state-run news agency MENA on the sidelines of the Africa 2017 Forum, currently taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh. Egypt's main exports included plastics, aromatic oils, sugars, machinery, electrical equipment, spare parts, and natural, artificial or semi-precious pearls. It also included metals, mineral fuels, minerals, vegetables, fruits, nuts, manufactured materials, soaps, washing machines, lubricants and steel materials. "The deficit in the trade balance slumped by $12.23 billion (37 percent) in the first eight months of 2017, to stand at $20.1 billion compared to $32.4 billion in the same period in 2016," Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade Tarek Kabil stated. Non-petroleum exports in that period increased by 11 percent to register $15 billion, compared to $13.5 billion from January to August 2016. Meanwhile, non-petroleum imports declined by 23 percent to $45.5 billion from $35.1 billion in the same period in 2016, marking a 23-percent decrease.
