A Study On Economic And Trade Relations Between Egypt And GCC Countries

The economic and trade relations between Egypt and GCC countries are an important part of Arab economic cooperation.The economic and trade development of the two sides is based on the development of their foreign relations and the change of economic and trade environment.It originated in the late Nasser period(after 1967),initially developed in the Sadat period,flourished in the Mubarak period,and continued to move forward in the Post-Mubarak period.With the political relations getting improved in the late Nasser period,the economic relations between the two sides had been restored.But due to the limited level of economic development,the economic exchanges between the two sides mainly focused on capital flows in the form of aid.During the Sadat period,Egypt's economic system reforms had improved economic and trade conditions,which made the investment and the labor cooperation become the main areas of trade cooperation between the two sides.During the Mubarak period,good political and economic relations had boosted the economic and trade prosperity.The two sides have carried out multi-level and in-depth cooperation in investment,commodity trade and labor cooperation.In the Post-Mubarak period,the disordered political situation restricted the development of economic and trade relations between the two sides.It was not until President Sisi stabilized the domestic situation that the economic and trade development of both sides could be resumed.The development of economic and trade relations between Egypt and the GCC countries is the result of various factors.Political mutual trust,Arab national unity consciousness and the trend of regional economic integration constitute the political basis for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations.The material foundation,economic complementarity,economic reforms,and legal environment have also laid the economic foundation and conditions for both sides.However,it should be pointed out that political relations are always the prerequisite for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations,the level of economic development is still the basis for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations,and economic globalization is still the background support of bilateral economic and trade relations.There are some problems or dilemmas in the economic and trade relations between Egypt and the GCC countries,such as the concentration of investment fields and the low proportion of investment;the expansion of trade deficit and the single trade structure;the intensification of permanent migration of workers and the severe impact of foreign labor services;the unstable regional situation and the great changes in trade fluctuations.The emergence of these problems isn't only caused by the factors of both sides themselves,but also by the changes of regional situation.The overall level of development of economic and trade relations between Egypt and GCC countries is limited,but it still has great potential for development.The perspective on the economic and trade relations between Egypt and the GCC countries can provide some useful lessons for economic cooperation in the Arab region: first,good political relations are a strong guarantee for Arab economic cooperation;second,the diversification of economic structure is the need of balanced development of trade among Arab countries;third,the integration of economic globalization is an inevitable development trend of Arab economic cooperation.