Jakarta: Following an official visit to Cairo on Thursday, Indonesia's trade minister announced that the country is stepping up its trade relations with Egypt as a conduit for exports to other African nations.

This week, Zulkifli Hasan headed a business delegation to the nation of North Africa as Jakarta looked into the export potential of non-traditional African markets.

According to Hasan, "(Egypt) is a gateway nation to access other African countries." The trip to Egypt was easy and productive because it improved ties between the two nations.

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Hasan met with Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir during his visit, and the two signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint trade committee with the goal of fostering trade ties.

Hasan stated that Indonesia wanted the committee's meetings to begin as soon as possible so that the two nations could "start identifying and discussing bilateral issues."

We both concurred that breakthroughs are needed because bilateral trade isn't yet operating at its best.

Additionally, we decided that the JTC would serve as the starting point for discussions about an Indonesia-Egypt PTA, which we hope will further strengthen trade ties between our two nations.

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By lowering or eliminating the tax duties on particular goods, a preferential trade agreement would increase trade.

Palm oil, coffee beans, and coconut oil were Indonesia's main exports to Egypt last year, accounting for the majority of the $1.57 billion in two-way trade between the nations.

According to Hasan, the country of North Africa had a high demand for coffee beans, making the market a potential one for Indonesian exporters to expand into.

With an approximate 7% market share, Indonesia is the second-largest producer of coffee in Asia, behind Vietnam.

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Businesses from Egypt and Indonesia also signed tentative agreements with a potential value of more than $865 million during Hasan's visit.