Egypt, EU sign €4B financial support package during Brussels summit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attended the signing ceremony alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa during the first-ever Egypt-EU Summit held in Brussels, according to a statement from Egypt’s State Information Service.

The statement said that Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development Rania al-Mashat signed a joint declaration with Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU’s Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, covering a memorandum of understanding for the €4 billion support package.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva also signed a memorandum for Egypt’s participation in Horizon Europe, the EU’s main research and innovation funding program.

Additionally, al-Mashat signed a joint statement with EU Commissioner for Democracy and Demography Dubravka Suica on a financing agreement to support Egypt’s local-level social and economic reform initiatives.

The Egypt-EU Summit aimed to deepen a strategic partnership announced in March 2024.

In a speech at an economic forum held alongside the summit, President Sisi declared that Egypt stands “on the threshold of a new phase of economic cooperation with the European Union,” according to a statement from the presidency.

Speaking before representatives of European companies, Egyptian firms and international financial institutions, Sisi called for “a mutually beneficial investment partnership.”

He said Egypt offers “real opportunities” in strategic sectors including pharmaceuticals and vaccines, automotive and electric vehicles, fertilizers and petrochemicals, renewable and green hydrogen energy, microchips, artificial intelligence, defense industries, and logistics infrastructure.

Sisi emphasized the “importance and weight of the economic partnership between Egypt and the EU,” noting that the bloc was Egypt’s top trading and investment partner in 2024, accounting for about 27% of the country’s foreign trade, with EU companies holding 32% of all the foreign direct investment stock of the country.

He also said discussions covered plans to establish a European investment corridor in Egypt to serve as a gateway to African and Arab markets and to integrate Egypt more deeply into European supply chains.

“The event is not the result of the moment,” Sisi said, “but the continuation of a growing path that began in March 2024, when we agreed to elevate Egypt–EU relations to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership, followed by the first Egypt–EU Investment Conference in June 2024.”

Sisi arrived in Brussels earlier Wednesday, according to the Egyptian presidency, which said he is attending the first Egypt–EU Summit as part of an official visit to Belgium.