Egypt, UAE push forward talks on CEPA deal

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Atty held talks on Wednesday with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi to review progress on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

Abdel-Atty said Cairo was committed to resolving the remaining technical issues and described the deal as a pivotal step towards a new phase of trade and investment integration with the UAE.

Talks also focused on boosting market access and trade flows, with both ministers pointing to major projects such as Ras El Hekma and Red Sea developments as signals of growing bilateral investment ties.

They discussed legislative and regulatory measures to support trade, along with initiatives to strengthen supply chains and improve resilience in food security and logistics, the ministry said. Abdel-Atty highlighted Egypt’s National Investment Strategy 2024–2030, which aims to double the private sector’s contribution to GDP and draw record levels of foreign direct investment.

The two sides also explored trilateral cooperation in Africa, including aligning UAE food security programmes with Egypt’s presence on the continent and using Egyptian goods in UAE aid deliveries to maximise efficiency and investment impact.

Both ministers stressed the importance of advancing technical consultations and accelerating agreements to build a model of integrated regional economic cooperation between Cairo and Abu Dhabi.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser