The first EU-Egypt summit will be held in Brussels on 22 October

The President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will represent the EU at the first EU-Egypt summit, which will take place in Brussels on 22 October 2025. President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi will represent Egypt.

The summit will discuss bilateral relations and ways to further deepen the political and economic partnership, as set out in the EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, with the aim of promoting common stability, peace and prosperity. The leaders will also discuss current global challenges such as the situation in the Middle East, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, multilateralism, trade, migration and security.

The summit will be followed by an informal dinner to which EU heads of state or government have been invited.

Context

In March 2024, the EU and Egypt jointly agreed to upgrade their relationship to the level of a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership covering six pillars of cooperation and common priorities: political relations, economic stability, trade and investment, migration and mobility, security, and demography and human capital. Making progress on these issues will allow the full potential of EU-Egypt relations to be realised. As part of the commitment to strengthen bilateral political dialogue, it was therefore decided to hold an EU-Egypt Summit every two years, in addition to the annual Association Council.

In 2024, the EU was Egypt’s largest trading partner, accounting for 22% of Egypt’s total trade. The EU was also the main destination for Egyptian exports (26.5% of the total) and the largest source of Egyptian imports (19.9% of the total). The Strategic Partnership will boost cooperation between the EU and Egypt in order to implement and exploit the full potential of the free trade area established in the 2004 Association Agreement.

More information: European Council