It is a pleasure to wrap up this high-level event – just before we head into the very first Summit between Egypt and the European Union. Here in this room, we have more than 300 representatives of companies from Egypt and Europe. Your presence here is proof of a simple fact. Our business communities understand that new opportunities are opening up. Because Egypt and Europe are getting closer than ever before.

Of course, our ties have deep roots.  But last year, we decided to bring our partnership to the next level. And we signed a new Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership. This is more than a political agreement. It has already started to deliver real economic results. Just a few months after we signed our joint declaration, you – President Sisi – invited me to Cairo, for an impressive investment conference. On that occasion, European companies announced EUR 49 billion of investment in Egypt – in sectors ranging from clean hydrogen to digital, from finance to education. To put this in perspective: This is more than the entire European foreign direct investment stock in Egypt.

Our Summit today is the natural next step. We will sign a number of agreements that will open even more business opportunities in Egypt. First, today we sign a new tranche of macro-financial assistance for Egypt, reaching a total of EUR 5 billion in support. Your government, President Sisi, has committed to an ambitious reform agenda. With this package, we support and incentivise those efforts. Because they are vital to create a stronger business environment and attract more investment to Egypt. So this is not just good news for Egypt’s financial stability today but also for its economic potential of tomorrow.

Second, today we mark Egypt’s association to Horizon Europe – that is the world’s largest research and innovation programme. Horizon is not just good for science. It invests in critical projects for our competitiveness – from clean energy to quantum computing. This is innovation that hits the market. And now Egypt’s researchers and talents can benefit too.

Just last week, we at the European Commission presented a Pact for the Mediterranean. It is an offer to our Southern Neighbours to integrate our economies closer than ever before. The Pact includes so many initiatives that could attract new investment to Egypt. For instance, we will set up a T-Med Investment Platform, that will create a pipeline of projects in renewable energy and clean tech across the Mediterranean. And we will open our AI Factories to Mediterranean countries, so that companies in Egypt can develop their AI solutions on European supercomputers.