Egyptian FM stresses importance of boosting economic cooperation with EU

CAIRO – 22 January 2024: On the sidelines of the meeting of the Association Council of the European Union and Egypt in Brussels, a business breakfast was hosted and attended by the Egyptian and European foreign ministers as well as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrel.

In his speech, Minister Sameh Shokry affirmed the depth of Egyptian-EU relations and that extend to the political, economic, cultural, and security realms, lauding the current momentum in ties.

Minister Shokry presented a detailed explanation of the economic situation in Egypt in light of the economic reform programme that began in 2016. He clarified the challenges ensued from the economic and security conditions on both regional and international levels.

The minister stressed the importance of Egyptian-EU cooperation in the realms of economics, trade and investment as that kind of collaboration is part of the strategic partnership between the two sides and inseparable from the current political coordination.

Minister Shokry pointed out that Egypt aims for turning into a regional center for manufacturing, trade, energy, services, and supply chains, saying that the country looks forward to a big and active participation of European firms in the investment conference it will host in 2024.

The discussions between the Egyptian minister and European counterparts tackled developments in various economic sectors in Egypt; governmental efforts to boost the role of the private sector; and, country's emphasis on the renewable energy sector, green hydrogen projects and electricity linkage with a number of other states, including Greece.

Apart from the economic aspect, the talks covered the current cooperation between Egypt and the EU in combating illegal migration and terrorism. That is in addition to conferring on regional crises of mutual concern, mainly those in Gaza Strip, Sudan, Libya, and the Red Sea.