Egypt and Tunisia discussed Sunday means of boosting trade and tourism cooperation ahead of a higher joint committee meeting to be held in Tunis in January under the prime ministers of the two countries.

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Atef Ebeid and Tunisian Minister of Trade and Tourism Monzer Al-Zendani also covered means of attracting more European tourists to visit the two countries. The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Trade Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali and Minister of Tourism Mamdouh El Beltagui.

Following the meeting, Ghali pointed out that the volume of trade between Egypt and Tunisia accounted for some 100 million dollars in 2003. We hope it will increase by 25 percent in 2004, he said.

Egypt`s partnership with Tunisia will increase the volume of trade and investments between the two countries, Ghali added. On his part, Beltagui pointed out that some 25,000 Tunisian tourists visited Egypt last year.