CAIRO – 23 October 2025: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi highlighted Wednesday Egypt’s stabilizing efforts across the region, including the peace agreement signed in Sharm El-Sheikh to end the war in Gaza.
The president made the remarks as he met with European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas.
The meeting took place in the Belgian capital, Brussels, ahead of the first-ever EU-Egypt Summit, set to convene later today in the presence of President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
Sisi expressed Egypt’s desire to strengthen EU cooperation in implementing the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement and the US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.
Post-War Gaza
Sisi highlighted the importance of maintaining the ceasefire, facilitating humanitarian aid delivery, and initiating Gaza’s reconstruction, reaffirming Egypt’s plans to host an international reconstruction and recovery conference in November.
Kallas praised Egypt’s vital role in achieving ceasefire and restoring stability, not only in Gaza, but also in Sudan and other crisis-affected countries.
She commended Trump’s Gaza plan as a positive step, emphasizing the EU’s aspiration to actively collaborate in implementing it.
The EU foreign policy chief also underscored the importance of upholding the Palestinian Authority and affirmed the EU’s keenness to support Gaza reconstruction efforts, including the upcoming conference in Egypt.
Cooperation on Global Files
While calling for consolidating the ceasefire in Gaza, Kallas also underline the importance of settling the crises in Sudan and Libya to ensure their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
She also called for ending the war in Ukraine and respecting the international law.
Sisi’s discussions with Kallas also covered water files and security in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, stressing respect for international law and norms as well as the sovereignty of states.
Balanced Middle East Approach, Migration
During the meeting, Sisi reiterated Egypt’s commitment to a balanced and wise approach in the Middle East, focused on regional security and stability rather than narrow interests.
He emphasized that Egypt’s balanced approach over the past decade has proven successful and also highlighted Egypt’s efforts in addressing illegal migration to Europe.
He affirmed that Europe has been largely shielded from illegal migration’s repercussions due to Cairo’s measures, including preventing the departure of illegal migration boats since September 2016.
The president added that Egypt continues to host nearly 10 million foreigners displaced from countries facing crises and instability, stressing that stabilizing those countries remains the most effective way to curb migration flows.
Kallas expressed the EU’s strong appreciation for Egypt’s pivotal efforts in this regard, emphasizing that the EU’s position focuses on supporting stability and development in countries that constitute sources of migration.
Egypt-EU Strategic Partnership
Sisi praised the strategic partnership between Egypt and the EU and emphasized the importance of political and security coordination to serve the interests of both the Middle East and Europe alike.
Egypt and the EU signed a joint declaration on strategic and comprehensive partnership during a summit held in Cairo in March 2024 in the presence of von der Leyen and several European leaders.
Their strategic partnership is focused on political relations, economic stability, trade and investments, immigration and mobility, security, and demography and human capital.
During the signing ceremony, the EU pledged an aid and investment package worth €7.4 billion for Egypt for the period 2024-2027.
The package includes €600 million in grants, with €200 million allocated to migration management, in addition to €5 billion in soft loans and €1.8 billion in investments.
This economic and investment plan focuses on key projects, such as energy transformation and support for Egypt's Water-Food-Energy Nexus initiative, which forms part of the nation's climate strategy.
In 2024, the EU represented the top trading partner in goods for Egypt with goods worth €32.5 billion, accounting for 22 percent of the country’s trade, according to EU statistics.
Thu, Oct. 23, 2025
