The European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries (DMAS) conducted an official visit to Egypt from 25 to 27 May 2025, led by the Chair Laurent CASTILLO (EPP, France), who was accompanied by Christophe GOMART (EPP, France), Elisabeth GROSSMANN (S&D, Austria) and Geadis GEADI (ECR, Cyprus). The Delegation’s main objectives were to hold the 14th EU-Egypt Interparliamentary Meeting (IPM), bringing together the DMAS members and a delegation of Egyptian parliamentarians from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives.

The meeting focused on key topics such as EU-Egypt bilateral relations, the human rights situation in the country (including women rights), environment policies and climate change, the EU’s macro-financial assistance package (MFA) to Egypt and the positive mediation efforts of Egypt in a region currently undergoing many different crisis. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to a strong and forward-looking EU-Egypt partnership, recognising the complex and volatile regional context, as well as the need for Egypt to continue playing a stabilising role in the region. On bilateral ties, participants agreed to explore opportunities to deepen engagement on issues of mutual interest.

The DMAS delegation also had the opportunity to exchange with high level members of the Egyptian executive branch, including Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mahmoud Fawzy, Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs and Political Communication. The meetings were followed by focused discussions with officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on topics such as migration, the Middles-East conflict and the situation in Gaza, cooperation on anti-terrorism and human rights. The Delegation stressed its deep concern about the ongoing war in Gaza and of its impact on the whole region.

The delegation visited several EU-funded projects, including an impressive Team Europe Initiative project on Wastewater, managed and co-funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), impacting the access to clean water for millions of Egyptians, and the Dominican Institute for Oriental Studies, which focuses on fostering inter-faith and intercultural dialogue. Exchanges and round tables were held with a broad spectrum of civil society organizations on development and gender policies, such as the Catholic Relief Service, the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, CARE Egypt and Save the Children, discussing also matters of education and healthcare in Egypt, finishing with a visit to the school for refugees of the Comboni Fathers.