Spain and Egypt strengthen economic and trade relations with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding

The Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, at the signing of agreements with the Government of Egypt (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The Governments of Spain and the Arab Republic of Egypt have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen and improve economic, trade, industrial and technical cooperation in Madrid during the meeting of the presidents of both countries.

This agreement, initialled by the Minister for Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, and the Egyptian Minister for Investment and Trade, Hassan El Khatib, establishes a framework for maintaining an open and frequent channel of dialogue to promote the expansion and diversification of bilateral economic and trade cooperation in fields relevant to the economic development of both countries.

This envisages the creation of an 'Economic Dialogue' composed of representatives from both sides, which will meet annually on a rotating basis in Egypt and Spain. This dialogue will take decisions necessary to achieve the objectives of the MoU and identify new areas of cooperation, make recommendations for the implementation of the agreement and discuss possibilities for strengthening bilateral relations.

Areas of cooperation include promoting links between economic policy makers, government agencies, professional organisations and business communities, as well as encouraging participation in development projects and organising business events.

Minister Carlos Cuerpo stressed at a business meeting held at the Chamber of Commerce that this agreement represents a significant step towards greater economic cooperation between Egypt and Spain and hopes that this institutional strengthening between the two countries will enhance the growth of our business relations.

Strong bilateral trade relations

Bilateral trade in goods between our countries exceeded 3 billion euros in 2023 and approached that figure by the end of 2024 (January-November).

Egypt is the second largest recipient of Spanish exports in Africa, exceeding 1,450 million euros in 2024. Within the European Union, Spain is the second largest destination for Egyptian exports, receiving 11.8% of total EU exports.

Most of this bilateral trade revolves around key sectors for Egyptian industry, such as machinery, chemicals, vehicles and electronics.

Spanish investments in Egypt reached 215 million euros in 2022, creating more than 2,600 jobs in diversified sectors. This makes Egypt our seventh largest investment destination in Africa, while Egypt is the continent's fourth largest investor in our country.

Boosted by the Bilateral Financial Protocol and the Joint Declaration on Financial Cooperation, signed during President Sánchez's visit to Egypt in 2021, Spain has increased its financial support to various projects. Among them, the Spanish instrument of the Fund for the Internationalisation of Companies (FIEM) has approved almost 600 million euros in favourable conditions for projects in Egypt, mainly in the railway sector.

Non official translation