Israel and Egypt are close to authorizing direct flights between Ben Gurion Airport and Sharm el-Sheikh following marathon talks between senior defense officials from both countries over the last two days.
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Cairo has shown great interest in bringing Israeli tourists to the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh. While a solution to national security challenges has proven difficult to find, progress has been made on the issue in recent years.
Among those in attendance at the Tel Aviv talks were Senior Egyptian intelligence officials and business people along with the Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office Yair Pines and Israeli defense officials and businesspeople.
The talks were aimed at promoting bilateral economic ties at the request of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi.
In contrast to the cold peace that has characterized Egypt-Israel ties, Egyptian officials have in recent months made clear their interest in bolstering bilateral economic ties. The head of the Egyptian delegation to Israel said that in this context, his country was interested in both exporting products to Israel as well as importing goods from Israel in a variety of industries.
Cairo and Jerusalem agreed to upgrade the Nitzana Border Crossing to enable the increased transfer of goods, including white cement, ammonia, and Egyptian agricultural products, from Egypt.
The Egyptian and Israeli representatives further decided to establish a joint economic committee to be tasked with cutting red tape.
Pines told Israel Hayom: "The meeting we held constitutes a significant milestone in the bolstering of trade and economic ties with Egypt. These ties have clear diplomatic benefits but also an economic effect with the potential to influence the cost of living in Israel as well."
Bilateral trade currently stands at $270 million a year, with Israel exporting $150 million in goods and importing $115 million worth each year.
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