Indonesia and Egypt have agreed to enhance trade cooperation during the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC) of the Trade Preferential System-Organization of Islamic Cooperation (TPS-OIC) and the Informal Ministerial Meeting of the D-8. Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan highlighted the potential for increased trade relations, given the long-standing diplomatic ties between the two countries, which provide a solid foundation for cooperation. "I believe the trade relationship between Indonesia and Egypt can be further strengthened. Both countries have long-standing diplomatic relations, which form a strong foundation for closer trade cooperation," said Zulkifli in a press release on Wednesday, 12 June 2024. He noted that Egypt could leverage Indonesia as a gateway to the ASEAN market, while Indonesia could use Egypt as a hub for reaching African, European, and Middle Eastern markets. Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir Saleh expressed a keen interest in exploring trade potential with Indonesia and shared a mutual enthusiasm for doubling bilateral trade.
Egypt is Indonesia's 27th largest export destination and 56th largest source of imports globally. From January to April 2024, trade between the two countries reached USD 474.3 million, with Indonesia's exports at USD 408.5 million and imports at USD 65.9 million. In 2023, total trade amounted to USD 1.51 billion, with Indonesia exporting USD 1.31 billion worth of goods to Egypt and importing USD 201.4 million, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 1.11 billion. Over the past five years (2019-2023), trade between Indonesia and Egypt has grown positively by 8.65%. In 2023, Indonesia's main exports to Egypt included palm oil (USD 798.5 million), coffee (USD 84.5 million), yarn (USD 48.2 million), fiberboard (USD 37.4 million), and copra (USD 32.2 million). Indonesia's major imports from Egypt were natural calcium phosphate (USD 47.4 million), phosphate fertilizers (USD 43.2 million), dates (USD 23 million), nitrogen fertilizers (USD 16 million), and sugar by-products (USD 13.1 million). In 2023, Egyptian investments in Indonesia reached USD 1.25 million with a total of 114 projects, marking a 244% increase from USD 364,800 with 19 projects in 2022.
