Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
At 6:00 PM Brussels time, the first summit between the European Union and Egypt will begin, with the participation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the European Council António Costa, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
The summit will focus on bilateral relations and deepening the political and economic partnership, with the aim of promoting stability, peace, and shared prosperity between the two parties. The two sides will also discuss current global challenges, including the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine, multilateralism, trade, migration, and security.
Regarding cooperation between the European Union and Egypt, the European statement said that in March 2024, the European Union and Egypt signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that strengthens their relations. This partnership focuses on six main axes:
Political relations
Economic stability
Trade and investment
Migration and mobility
Security
Demography and human capital
The EU-Egypt Association Agreement entered into force in 2004. It establishes a free trade area between the EU and Egypt by eliminating customs duties on industrial products and facilitating the trade of agricultural products.
On the sidelines of the visit, the Egyptian President will hold a series of important meetings with senior European Union officials, a number of European leaders, and the King of Belgium, with the aim of consolidating frameworks for political cooperation and coordination on regional and international issues of common interest.
The visit also includes a pivotal economic component, with an expanded economic forum on investment opportunities in Egypt to be held on the sidelines, with broad participation from major European companies and business leaders. The forum will also discuss Egypt's vision for combating illegal immigration, according to the Egyptian statement.
Trade between Egypt and EU countries reached approximately $31.2 billion in 2023, according to a statement by the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics last March.
The European Union is the leading investor in Egypt, with accumulated investment totaling approximately €38.8 billion, representing approximately 39 percent of total foreign direct investment in Egypt. Egypt remains the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment from the European Union in the Middle East and North Africa region, according to information from the European Union Delegation to Egypt on its website.
Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, believes that this summit and this visit affirm the partnership agreement between the two sides and represent an important opportunity to enhance the scope of cooperation between them.
In March 2024, the Egyptian President and the European Commission signed a declaration upgrading Egyptian relations with the European Union to a "comprehensive strategic partnership," in the presence of the heads of government of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, and Austria. The agreement included work in six areas: "political relations, economic stability, investment, trade, migration, and security."
The former Secretary-General of the Egyptian-European Partnership Unit, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Gamal Bayoumi, said that the summit is of great importance, especially since it is the first of its kind and has never been held with any Mediterranean country before. It reveals a trend toward strengthening partnership with Egypt in several areas more broadly and rapidly.
He expects that this summit and visit will result in more European investments in Egypt, increased opportunities for cooperation, enhanced partnership between the two sides, and increased trade exchange. In March 2024, the European side announced "a financial support package for Egypt in the areas of trade and investment amounting to approximately €8 billion, to be distributed over the coming years." In January 2025, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated that his country "received the first tranche of €1 billion, from a €7.4 billion European Union funding package."
On May 20, representatives of the European Parliament and governments of EU member states reached an agreement to provide loans worth €4 billion ($4.5 billion) to Egypt, with the aim of supporting its economy and strengthening cooperation within the framework of a strategic partnership.
Hegazy asserts that the coming period will witness further cooperation between the two sides, particularly in investments, emphasizing that the European financing and aid package provided to Egypt reflects an awareness of Cairo's importance in the region and the need to affirm support for its economy and future. Bayoumi, who led Egypt's negotiations with the European Union in 2001 to sign the partnership agreement, expected the economic file to be a priority over the other issues and to succeed in light of the ongoing European support for Cairo amid regional crises.
Sisi arrived in the Belgian capital on Tuesday and was greeted by crowds of Egyptians residing in several European countries close to Belgium, such as France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and others. They expressed their happiness at the reception. In statements to the "Europe and Arab" website, Hani Saad, a resident of Menoufia Governorate, said that Sisi's presence in Brussels to participate in the summit is a strong signal of Egypt's return to leadership and the extent of European and international appreciation for Egypt's status and importance. Al-Saeed Al-Salmouni, from Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, said that members of the Egyptian communities were keen to attend to express their happiness with the president's visit and, at the same time, to demonstrate support for the positions and policies adopted by the political leadership during the recent period. Mohamed Othman, from Alexandria, said that everyone is optimistic about the results of the summit and the future of relations between the Egyptian and European sides, which will benefit everyone.