Five Egyptian companies are set to showcase their work at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair this week, as the Egyptian authorities seek to strengthen their commercial and investment ties with Greece and promote the country as a preferred gateway into the Southeastern European region and the Balkans. Egypt Greek Investors Thessaloniki
Organized by the Egyptian Commercial Service’s Athens office, the Egyptian delegation is set to occupy more than 100 square metres of exhibition space at the international event, which runs through September 5-13, marking the centenary of the fair’s establishment in 1926, and is set to have Japan as the guest of honor, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also touring the exhibit halls at the fair’s opening day.
In addition to the exhibition, the Egyptian authorities are also conducting a series of business meetings to develop and capitalize on the opportunities the fair provides.
Abdel Aziz El Sherif, First Undersecretary at the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and head of the Egyptian Commercial Service, said the Athens office arranged direct contact between Egyptian exhibitors and both Greek firms and Greek companies already invested in Egypt, with talks centered on improving Egyptian exporters’ access to the Greek market and identifying what local importers and distributors actually need.
Discussions also explored joint production ventures that would use Egypt as a manufacturing base for exports to Africa, the Arab world, Europe and the Balkans — a theme that ran through a separate meeting with the chairman of Greek aluminium producer ALUMIL.
The company, which already manufactures aluminium products in Egypt, is weighing whether to expand its local production capacity, both to meet domestic demand and to use Egypt as a springboard for exports to neighboring regions, taking advantage of the country’s free and preferential trade agreements.
The Egyptian side also met separately with the Piraeus and Thessaloniki chambers of commerce to widen information-sharing between the two business communities, and joined a “Discover Japan” event held alongside the fair in partnership with Enterprise Greece.
The push builds on already sizable economic ties: bilateral trade between the two countries stands at roughly $2 billion, more than 200 Greek companies operate across various sectors in Egypt, and Greek exports to Egypt reached about $611.9 million in 2025. El Sherif said his office would keep following up on contacts made during the fair to convert them into firm trade and investment deals. Eqypt Journal
