The civil aviation authorities in Egypt and Italy have signed a twinship agreement worth 1.1 million euros to exchange expertise and achieve sustainable development.

The agreement, which also aims to upgrade training and unify standards of safe navigation control, will be funded over 24 months under the auspices of Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal.

The aviation authority chose Italy's grant out of three proposed by EU countries, including Sweden and Denmark, with the aim to bring closer Egyptian and EU legislation.

It is also meant to achieve institutional reform and turn the aviation authority into an independent entity that has its independent resources.

A mechanism to maximize revenues will, thus, be outlined and the wage structure will be revised.

Chairman of the civil aviation authority Mahmoud el Zanati said the agreement also entails developing regulatory and control activities.

Italy is a major economic partner of Egypt, Zanati said, adding that it is its No. 1 partner in Europe.

Italian investments in Egypt amounted to more than 1.5 billion dollars over the period between 1970 and 2014, he noted.

The volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached about 1.8 billion euros in 2011, Zanati further said.