Egypt and the European Union are moving ever closer in a new era of dynamic cooperation. The Egypt-EU Investment Conference signals the beginning of a new economic partnership between Egypt and the EU and a new economic reality in Europe. The Mediterranean is returning as a major economic heartland thanks to the rise of the importance of Egypt and the networks that are being established in the region.

The Egypt-EU Investment Conference held in Cairo last weekend under the patronage of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen was a major event that shows the growing importance of Egypt as a reliable EU partner and the complementary nature of Egyptian and EU interests.

More than 1,000 participants, including heads of EU states, EU commissioners, Egyptian and European ministers, senior officials from development partners, and the CEOs of major companies, attended this seminal event. The Egypt-EU Investment Conference is expected to yield €40 billion in new deals for Egypt, a major boost, and it marks the first practical implementation phase that follows the Egypt-EU Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership agreed upon by both sides during the Egypt-EU Summit in March this year in Cairo.

President Al-Sisi said at the conference that it will help Egypt to become a regional hub for supply chains for European companies and a centre for transferring and circulating renewable and green energy, while Von der Leyen emphasised that Egypt’s goal of becoming a clean energy hub in the region is also in the EU’s interest.

The EU is already the second-largest investor in Egypt after the Arab Gulf countries, and it is expected that in the near future it could well become the largest, as both the EU as a whole and individual states become more actively involved. Egypt has multiple geopolitical orientations, and the reaffirmation of ties with the EU is proof of the importance of its northern connections. While geopolitical tensions still exist to the west (Libya), to the east (Palestine), and to the south (Sudan), the northern route towards the EU is a beacon of stability and now also of economic prowess.

Greece as Egypt’s nearest EU neighbour has been essential in promoting this cooperation framework in the Mediterranean and actively working in its favour inside the EU bureaucracy. Greece was the first EU country to sign a bilateral agreement with Egypt back in 2020 concerning the Exclusive Economic Zones of the two countries. It signed a migration and mobility pact with Egypt in 2022, and it has established effective modes of military cooperation, including joint drills, with Egypt over the last ten years.

A major Greek company is responsible for building an advanced electrical cable between the two countries (the GREGY-Elica Interconnector) that has already been registered with the register of EU’s Projects of Mutual Interest. This will be a major step in reaffirming Egypt’s importance as a clean energy supplier to the energy-hungry EU. Greek diplomacy has also been consistently promoting regional cooperation and the need for the EU to adopt pro-active strategies in the Mediterranean.

The Mediterranean is rapidly becoming a new economic heartland for the wider region and for all the actors involved: Egypt, the EU, and the African and West Asian countries. Investment and energy hubs are springing up along the coasts of the Mediterranean countries, providing new focal points for the global economy.

If we combine this tendency with the top strategic importance of the Suez Canal for world shipping and the transformation of the wider economy towards clean energy, we can clearly see a pattern emerging. The Mediterranean is becoming an economic heartland for the global system thanks to its strategic position, the networks that have been or are being established, and the growing bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region.

The writer is an adjunct lecturer in geopolitics at the University of Athens in Greece.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 4 July, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly