Speech by President von der Leyen at the high-level event in the margins of the EU-Egypt Summit

Your Excellency President El-Sisi,

Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to wrap up this high-level event – just before we head into the very first Summit between Egypt and the European Union. Here in this room, we have more than 300 representatives of companies from Egypt and Europe. Your presence here is proof of a simple fact. Our business communities understand that new opportunities are opening up. Because Egypt and Europe are getting closer than ever before.

Of course, our ties have deep roots. For many years, Europe has been Egypt's top trading partner. Egypt exports to Europe almost three times more goods than to the US, China, Russia, Brazil and India – combined. But last year, we decided to bring our partnership to the next level. And we signed a new Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership. This is more than a political agreement. It has already started to deliver real economic results. Just a few months after we signed our joint declaration, you – President Sisi – invited me to Cairo, for an impressive investment conference. On that occasion, European companies announced EUR 49 billion of investment in Egypt – in sectors ranging from clean hydrogen to digital, from finance to education. To put this in perspective: This is more than the entire European foreign direct investment stock in Egypt. And it is a very tangible sign of the power of our partnership.

Our Summit today is the natural next step. We will sign a number of agreements that will open even more business opportunities in Egypt. Let me just mention two of them. First, today we sign a new tranche of macro-financial assistance for Egypt, reaching a total of EUR 5 billion in support. Your government, President Sisi, has committed to an ambitious reform agenda. With this package, we support and incentivise those efforts. Because they are vital to create a stronger business environment and attract more investment to Egypt. So this is not just good news for Egypt's financial stability today but also for its economic potential of tomorrow.

Second, today we mark Egypt's association to Horizon Europe – that is the world's largest research and innovation programme. Horizon is not just good for science. It invests in critical projects for our competitiveness – from clean energy to quantum computing. This is innovation that hits the market. And now Egypt's researchers and talents can benefit too.

But today, we are also looking at new opportunities for cooperation. Just last week, we at the European Commission presented a Pact for the Mediterranean. It is an offer to our Southern Neighbours to integrate our economies closer than ever before. The Pact includes so many initiatives that could attract new investment to Egypt. For instance, we will set up a T-Med Investment Platform, that will create a pipeline of projects in renewable energy and clean tech across the Mediterranean. And we will open our AI Factories to Mediterranean countries, so that companies in Egypt can develop their AI solutions on European supercomputers. The overall objective is clear. Today, we often rely on products made very far away – from batteries to software. What if we joined forces to produce them in our common region? This is a vision we share. And this is the agenda that we will push forward, in today's Summit and beyond.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today's Summit demonstrates our strong commitment to bring Egypt and Europe closer together. We will keep investing in this, both politically and financially. But ultimately it is you, the people in this room, who can make the biggest difference on the ground. This room is full of future partners. The encounters you are making today are the business opportunities of tomorrow. And your future investments will make both Egypt and Europe stronger. So my message to you is simple. There is a new bridge between Egypt and Europe. It is time to cross it and to keep investing in each other.

Thank you very much for being here. Shukran jazeelan. And long live the friendship between Egypt and Europe.