The volume of trade between Egypt and the UAE is expected to double from its present level to more than Dh8 billion in the next three years, the visiting Egyptian Minister of Investment, Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin told Emirates Business.

He said Egypt was looking to boost its exports to the UAE by at least 15 per cent. "The current trade exchange, which reached $1.1bn (Dh4.04bn) in 2009 does not reflect the strong political relations and historical ties between the leadership and people of the two countries," he added.

Egypt, he said, was doing its best to remove hurdles in the way of doubling the trade exchange. "There are no political obstacles, but we need to develop information [sharing] between the two countries. The recent period has seen a big improvement in this respect," he said. "Every week, either a senior Egyptian official arrives in the UAE or a UAE official in Egypt, to strengthen relations. The coming days will see big projects between the two countries, especially in transport."

Several branches of major UAE banks such as Mashreq, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Union National Bank, have been recently opened in Egypt, he said. "These new branches will play a big role in doubling UAE investments in Egypt and in boosting the volume of trade exchange."

Likewise, the opening of branches of Egyptian banks such as Banque Misr in the UAE will strengthen trade and increase exports, especially as Egypt has set an export target of 200bn Egyptian pounds (Dh130.11bn) by 2013, he added. The minister said the number of UAE companies registered in Egypt since 1970 up to April this year stood at 492, including 277 during 2004-2009. Of those, 32 per cent are in the services sector, 20 per cent in industry, 15 per cent in construction, 10 per cent in finance, 10 per cent in agriculture, eight per cent in tourism and the rest in other sectors.

The exported capital of UAE companies in Egypt totals $4.3bn, but the figure does not equal the total investments, Mohieldin said – for instance, a company might have an exported capital of 500 million Egyptian pounds but its investments largely exceed this figure.

The minister said 50 per cent of UAE investments in Egypt were in telecom and 24 per cent in banking. Bilateral trade, he said, rose to $1.4bn in 2008 from $200mn in 2004, but then fell to $1.1bn in 2009 because of the global financial crisis. "I believe the trade will go back to $1.4bn and more this year," he stated.

Mohieldin said 30 per cent of the income of most big Egyptian companies, particularly in the contracting and electricity sectors, was linked to projects abroad, especially in the UAE. The minister added he reviewed a number of investment projects in Egypt during his recent meetings with the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs.