Press statement by President von der Leyen with Austrian Chancellor Nehammer, Belgian Prime Minister De Croo, Cypriot President Christodoulidis, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, Italian Prime Minister Meloni and Egyptian President El-Sisi

Thank you very much, Mr President, for your warm welcome and hospitality. I am very glad to be back in Cairo. The partnership between the European Union and Egypt is of critical importance. The presence of six European Leaders today shows how deeply we value our relationship. We share strategic interests in stability and prosperity. Given your political and economic weight, as well as your strategic location in a very troubled neighbourhood, the importance of our relations will only increase over time.

Today's visit and strong representation by European Leaders, reflects the strength of our bilateral ties. And today marks a historic milestone with the signature of our joint declaration for a strategic and comprehensive partnership. It is a partnership based on six main pillars; six areas of mutual interest for Europe and Egypt. And I am pleased to announce that this will be supported by a new financial and investment package of EUR 7.4 billion for the coming four years.

The first pillar is that we will intensify our political dialogue. And together, we will also work on our commitment to promote democracy and human rights. To do this, we will hold a Leaders' Summit once every two years that comes on top of our annual Association Council.

The second pillar is on economic stability. We will support financially your reform efforts, together with international partners.

The third pillar is on investment and trade. We already have our Southern Neighbourhood Economic and Investment Plan in place, but we can do much more, be it renewable energy, be it digitalisation or connectivity, be it the agricultural sector or the water management, just to name a few topics. To this end we will support the EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo later this year. In this context, let me say a few words on energy investments. We are developing the Gregy electric interconnector project together, this connects Egypt to Greece, and increases energy security in Europe. Egypt has all the resources to become a renewables hub, in particular when it comes to renewable hydrogen. You are keen to attract foreign investment, we have investors interested in Egypt, and we have a Memorandum of Understanding on this. So let us press ahead with the work in this area.

The fourth pillar is migration and mobility. We already have a very good cooperation. This is needed more than ever. This is why we will invest at least EUR 200 million from today's package to make our cooperation even more effective. We will carry on with our work to facilitate legal migration, for example, the Talent Partnerships. In parallel, we continue to count on Egypt's full dedication to control illegal migration from border management to anti-smuggling and return.

The fifth pillar is on security and law enforcement. We have an established cooperation on counterterrorism, and we will reinforce it.

The last pillar is in many ways, the most important one: It is about people, their skills, and research. Exchanges of students under the Erasmus+ programme are already thriving. Egypt can now negotiate its accession to other EU programmes such as Creative Europe and Horizon Europe. All this will deepen the bonds between our people on both sides of the Mediterranean.

Of course, these discussions are taking place in a time of deep crisis. We are all extremely concerned about the war in Gaza and the unfolding catastrophic humanitarian situation. Gaza is facing famine. And we cannot accept this. It is critical to achieve an agreement on a ceasefire rapidly now that frees the hostages and allows more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza. I commend you for your personal efforts, Mr President, to broker such a ceasefire. We are also very concerned about the risks a full-scale offensive in Rafah would have on the vulnerable civilian population. This needs to be avoided at all costs. I would also like to thank Egypt for its extraordinary efforts to ensure that humanitarian supplies can reach Gaza.

The European Union is doing everything in its power to provide much-needed assistance. We know that today, Gaza needs 500 trucks per day – or the equivalent by land, by air and by sea. This year alone, the European Union will provide EUR 275 million in assistance to Palestinians. We have delivered over 1,800 tonnes of aid, including medical equipment to Egypt and we are making sure this aid can reach Gaza through all possible routes. This includes also our newly opened maritime corridor in Cyprus.

Mr President,

Current events confirm once again the vital role that Egypt plays in the stability and security of the region. And these challenging times have shown the value and strength of our bilateral cooperation and relationship. It is therefore only natural for us to intensify our partnership. We have a mutual interest to do so.

Thank you very much again Mr President. I am looking forward to this new chapter in our relationship.

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