EGYPTIAN EXPORTERS PUSH UZBEKS; KARIMOV TO CAIRO

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000500

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017
TAGS: ETRD PREL GPGOV EG UZ
SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN EXPORTERS PUSH UZBEKS; KARIMOV TO CAIRO
IN APRIL


Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY AMB. JON R. PURNELL FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)
.


1. (C) Summary: To keep up with the Central Asian Jones',
President Karimov is scheduled to visit Cairo in April. On
February 19, an Egyptian trade delegation held its annual
meeting with Uzbek counterparts. To the Egyptians'
disappointment, the Uzbeks have yet to reduce import barriers
for Egyptian goods. End summary.


2. (C) Egyptian DCM, Jailan Abbas, told poloff the Uzbeks
initiated President Karimov's trip to Cairo, scheduled for
April. In her opinion, Karimov's motivation for the visit is
not to be outdone by his Central Asian rivals: the Kyrgyz
president visited Cairo in October 2006, and the Kazakh
president visited in March 2007.


3. (C) Abbas said that the February 19 visit of an Egyptian
business delegation, led by the Minister of International
Cooperation, was perfunctory and no meaningful agreements
made. The Uzbek-Egyptian Intergovernmental Commission for
Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation is
scheduled to meet annually. However, the meeting in Tashkent
was the first in three years. According to Abbas, the Uzbeks
backed out of last year's planned meeting in Cairo.


4. (C) Currently, Uzbek-Egyptian trade takes the form of
Egyptian exports to Uzbekistan, mostly unfinished textiles
and agricultural products. Abbas said the Egyptians want to
export basic consumer goods to Uzbekistan and compete with
"inferior" Chinese products, but Uzbekistan's import
substitution policies present a huge hurdle to foreign
exporters. The Egyptians hope eventually to gain favorable
access to the Uzbek market, but they remain pessimistic about
the prospects of improved Uzbek economic policies.
PURNELL