CAIRO: The EU is keen to strengthen its economic and political relations with Egypt, says Christian Berger, the bloc’s envoy in Cairo. Berger highlighted Egypt’s role as an important link in regional supply chains, while he affirmed the existence of a long-term partnership and solid relations with the country in all fields. He voiced hope that the coming period would see significant cooperation between the two sides, particularly in technology transfer and the pharmaceutical industry. The envoy added that the EU’s relations with countries, especially strategic partners such as Egypt, were based on long-term visions as the bloc had long-standing agreements and partnerships with them, including trade deals. He said that discussions were underway on the transfer of European technology to the country, not only for the sake of investment but also to aid research and innovation at Egyptian institutions, companies, and universities. Berger highlighted discussions between Egyptian and European companies on this subject during a meeting with a number of journalists. He revealed that there were also talks about the development of the pharmaceutical industry. Egyptian companies have capabilities, especially in the production of vaccines to fight various ailments, said Berger. When asked whether he believed relations with the EU lacked an early warning and crisis response mechanism, he said that the EU seeks to have systems that allow it to do so. He pointed out that there had been discussions with a number of bodies and organizations, such as the Arab League, on a number of environmental issues and how systems could react quickly to related matters or natural disasters. Egyptian Trade and industry Minister Ahmed Samir recently held talks with Berger on ways to boost economic cooperation. The two sides agreed to work together on promoting investment opportunities for European companies in Egypt, along with related incentive packages being offered by the country’s government. Samir said in September the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and the EU last year was worth around $29.6 billion, compared to about $23.8 billion in 2020, an increase of 24.5 percent. The EU is the world’s second-largest market for Egyptian exports, he said, adding that the country’s government aimed to adopt advanced European industrial technologies.