Israel and Egypt have renewed commercial relations following a prolonged period of stagnation.
Last week, Egyptian and Israeli officials met in Cairo to discuss ways to expand the reach of their Qualified Industrial Zones agreement. Commonly known as the QIZ Protocol, this process was established by the U.S. Congress in 1996 in an effort to foster economic ties between Israel and its neighbors.
Israel and Egypt signed a QIZ agreement in 2004.
The Israeli delegation included Economy and Industry Ministry QIZ co-chairman Gabby Bar, Foreign Ministry Middle East Economic Relations Department head Amira Oron, and other senior officials in the Israeli Customs Authority and the private sector.
The two missions had not met in a year.
Local media reported that the delegation met with senior officials in the Egyptian Trade and Industry Ministry, including Egypt's QIZ chief Ashraf al-Rabie, diplomats from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and several prominent Egyptian businessmen.
The meeting focused on promoting trade ties between Israel and Egypt under the QIZ agreement, which both Jerusalem and Cairo view as vital to economic relations and as a platform for advancing their overall bilateral relations.
Egypt announced its plans to reopen the Nitzana border crossing, an international terminal that handles commercial trade. The crossing was closed in January over Egypt's battle against Islamic State terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula.
Dan Catarivas, director of Foreign Trade and International Relations at the Israeli Manufacturers Association, told Israel Hayom the meeting focused on the significant potential to increase import-export ties between the longtime allies by further diversifying the sectors included in the QIZ agreement, as well as streamlining the issuing of business visas on both sides.
"Egypt is in the process of implementing very significant economic reforms that will create many business opportunities for foreigners, including Israelis," he said.
