EU and Egypt join forces to accelerate strategic investment, industrial transformation and innovation

The European Union and the Arab Republic of Egypt held today a High-Level Event on Investments, Competitiveness and Innovation on the margins of the first-ever EU-Egypt Leaders' Summit in Brussels.

Organized under the auspices of Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the event was opened by European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Badr Abdelatty and Minister of Investment & Foreign Trade of Egypt Hassan ElKhatib.

It brought together EU and Egyptian representatives, among whom Rania Al Mashat, the Egyptian Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, as well as over 400 representatives of public authorities, businesses, and international financial institutions, providing a platform for dialogue between the EU and Egypt to coordinate efforts and identify concrete investment opportunities that strengthen our shared economic partnership.

The event focused on the role of the macroeconomic reforms, regulatory environment, and Egypt's comparative advantages inunlocking investment, supporting industrial transformation, and fostering innovation. These joint efforts to mobilise private sector investments will contribute to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Egypt, promote job creation and a more dynamic and resilient economy and will eventually benefit Egyptian businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as citizens while strengthening shared stability and resilience across the Mediterranean.

Three panel discussions highlighted joint priorities as follows:

• First panel titled: A focused dialogue on macroeconomic reforms, regulatory environment, and Egypt's comparative advantages.
  This session opened a dialogue on how Egypt and the EU can deepen economic cooperation and unlock strategic investments across key sectors. Discussions highlighted Egypt's reform momentum, its regulatory environment, and comparative advantages, including its industrial potential and role as a gateway to regional markets. The session will also has reflected on how strategic investments in critical infrastructure, sustainable industrial value chains, and enabling sectors can drive shared resilience, competitiveness, and long-term prosperity.
  
• Second panel titled: Strengthening industrial competitiveness and sustainable value chains
  This session explored how to strengthen industrial competitiveness by scaling sustainable, future-oriented value chains and promoting the uptake of clean and resource-efficient technologies. Discussions highlighted how deeper public-private cooperation, targeted innovation, and enabling frameworks can support Egypt's ambitions to modernise its industrial base, align with evolving global standards, and access new market opportunities. The session also presented the forthcoming T-MED Initiative as a catalyst for deepening cooperation and attracting investment.
  
• Third panel titled: Innovate to Elevate, putting research and innovation at the heart of competitiveness
  This session discussed the successful conclusion of Egypt's association to Horizon Europe. This will unlock unprecedented opportunities for Egyptian researchers, innovators, universities, and private sector actors to access European funding, partnerships, networks, research infrastructures, capacity-building programmes. The panel also focused on strengthening Egypt's innovation ecosystem by fostering closer ties between industry, academia, and incubators-ensuring that research translates into market-ready solutions and industrial impact. The discussion explored how public-private cooperation can accelerate technology deployment, support local manufacturing capabilities, and create new business opportunities.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, closed this marking event paving the way towards a stronger cooperation between the EU and Egypt.

Background

The event marks a major step from commitment to implementationof the EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership launched in March 2024 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi . The event is also in line with the Pact for the Mediterranean adopted on 16 October which moves towards a partnership based on joint responsibility, co-ownership and co-creation. While addressing common challenges, it unlocks new opportunities and fosters investment.

One year after the holding of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference where 30 agreements and memoranda of understanding worth nearly €49 billion were successfully signed in Cairo. This conference was followed by the launch of the EU-Egypt Investment Guarantees for Development Mechanism, which aims to further catalyse investments just a few months prior this event. T

Quotes

Commissioner Dubravka Šuica underlined: "Today's first EU-Egypt High-Level event mark a new phase of our Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, further strengthening cooperation on economic resilience, sustainable development, and reforms. With over 400 participants from Europe and Egypt, we want to accelerate investment, reforms, industrial transformation, and innovation, by identifying concrete investments opportunities. This work aligns with the Pact for the Mediterranean, which Egypt helped shape, reflecting our shared commitment to joint responsibility, co-ownership, and co-creation."

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty highlighted Egypt's reform path: "The Egyptian- European Investment Conference, which is held on the sidelines of the first EU-Egypt Summit, is of critical importance. The conference reflects the strong political will of both the European and Egyptian sides to further strengthen economic, trade, and investment relations between them, in the context of implementing the agreement to elevate relations to the level of a strategic and comprehensive partnership, which includes six main pillars to enhance relations between the two sides, foremost among them the economic pillar. He stressed that the conference represents an important opportunity to showcase to European companies the favourable investment climate in Egypt and the measures taken through a package of policies and legislations aimed at empowering the Egyptian, European, and global private sector".

Investment & Foreign Trade Minister Hassan ElKhatib said "Egypt's new narrative is one of competitiveness and openness, an economy open to the world, grounded in reform, and driven by results. We are paving the way for a new phase of sustainable growth, positioning Egypt as a regional hub for trade, investment, and industrial transformation. Together with our European partners, we are deepening a strategic, win-win partnership built on shared value, resilient supply chains, and long-term competitiveness".