Egypt, EU endorse partnership priorities until 2027

CAIRO – 19 June 2022: Egypt and the European Union (EU) endorsed the Egypt-EU Partnership priorities, on Sunday evening, at the ninth session of the EU-Egypt Association Council in Luxemburg.

Both Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell endorsed the Egypt-EU partnership priorities, which will guide the partnership and cooperation between the two sides until 2027, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson took to Twitter on Sunday.

Now… both FM #Sameh_Shoukry & HRVP Josep Borrell endorse the Egypt-EU partnership priorities, which will guide the partnership and cooperation between the two sides until 2027@JosepBorrellF pic.twitter.com/Y5W3ZrO73I

— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) June 19, 2022

Endorsement of the Egypt-EU partnership priorities by FM #Sameh_Shoukry and HRVP Josep Borrell pic.twitter.com/eQJwn4AsKr

— Egypt MFA Spokesperson (@MfaEgypt) June 19, 2022

The endorsement occurred after the resumption of the 9th meeting of the Egypt-EU Association Council by holding a plenary session with the participation of a number of European FMs, to continue discussions regarding various issues of cooperation between the two sides, as well as issues of common interest.

Shoukry and Borell held bilateral meetings to discuss the priorities of the two side’s partnership over the coming five years to be a guide for the two sides’ action, Borell told a group of reporters after giving a joint press briefing with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh  on Sunday.

They would discuss, on Monday, the ways of building a sustainable economy mainly on the green and digital transition, he added, noting that the EU is going also to support Egyptians when it comes to the food security, “the most important topic” they have to engage as the war in “Ukraine has distorted everything.”

The European Union (EU) is cooperating with the United Nations, for Egypt, on the efforts to “deblock” the Ukrainian wheat exports, he said.

"20 million tons of wheat missing in the international market. 20 million tons means a lot of bread. If we don’t deblock the Ukrainian exports, we will be in a severe condition,” he said.

Borell continued that 60 million tons have to be exported to the international market after harvesting this season's crops. He added that the EU gave Egypt 100 million euros immediacy to support food security by enhancing the agriculture field and the stockpiling of food.

Sameh Shoukry said that Egypt has demonstrated its reliability as an effective partner that can address all the challenges they jointly face in a positive and objective manner.

“We are happy to continue to promote this relationship for best and trust for all sides. We see the development and intensification of the relationship on the all levels,” Shoukry added.

Shoukry added that Egypt is looking forward to continuing the discussions with the Foreign Ministers of the association on Monday for an in-depth dialogue related to the bilateral relation and to the regional and global conditions, and on certainly on the economic consequences as the global economies are facing is very severe.

Shoukry continued that Egypt will be a productive partner through its creation of the eastern Mediterranean gas hub and the ability to provide energy reliably and consistently and also in the area of renewable and cleaner energy.

He continued that Egypt is embarking on hosting the Cop 27 conference in Sharm El Sheikh, adding that during the conference Egypt would launch the varieties and regional and global initiatives. He added that Egypt, during the COP 27 agenda, will promote its ability to be a major producer of green energy whether wind, solar or hydrogen.