Egypt, Thailand FMs meet in Manila to boost economic ties

CAIRO - 24 July 2026: Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates, met on Friday, 24 July, with Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Manila, the Philippines.

Minister Abdelatty expressed Egypt’s pride in the longstanding and distinguished relations with the Kingdom of Thailand, commending the growing momentum in bilateral ties in recent years. He reaffirmed Egypt’s keenness to build on the progress achieved across various fields of cooperation in a manner that reflects the significant potential of the two countries.

The Foreign Minister also highlighted Egypt’s interest in strengthening its relations with Asian countries and further developing its partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), based on its conviction of the Association’s growing role in promoting security, stability, and economic development, as well as the broad opportunities it offers for enhancing bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Abdelatty further reaffirmed Egypt’s keenness to deepen its institutional relations with ASEAN since its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2016, in a way that enhances cooperation with ASEAN member states across various sectors and serves the shared interests of both sides.

On the economic front, Minister Abdelatty underscored the importance of joint efforts to increase bilateral trade and investment flows in a manner commensurate with the distinguished level of relations between the two countries.

He praised the existing Thai investments in Egypt, particularly in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, and emphasized Egypt’s keenness to attract additional Thai investments in priority sectors, foremost among them food industries, tourism and hospitality, energy, electric vehicles and batteries, and the rubber and automotive components industries. He also reviewed the competitive advantages offered by Egypt’s investment climate and the incentives provided by the Egyptian government to foreign investors.

Minister Abdelatty also stressed the importance of continuing to activate the existing bilateral cooperation frameworks and building on the outcomes of the eighth round of political consultations between the two countries, which was held in Cairo last June.

He lauded the ongoing cooperation in the fields of education and religious cooperation, as well as the high academic standards demonstrated by Thai students studying in Egypt, expressing his aspiration to expand cooperation in capacity building, training, and the exchange of expertise.

The two ministers also discussed regional and international developments. Minister Abdelatty reviewed Egypt’s efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and containing instability in the Middle East, emphasizing Egypt’s position calling for the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the rules of international law.

He also stressed the importance of supporting the diplomatic track as a means of achieving regional security and stability, while underscoring the need to safeguard freedom of international navigation and take into account the security concerns of the countries of the region.

For his part, the Thai Foreign Minister expressed his country's pride in the close relations with Egypt, and hailed the positive development of bilateral ties. He reaffirmed Thailand’s keenness to further strengthen cooperation with Egypt across various fields and to coordinate with Egypt on regional and international issues of mutual interest.