H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, signed an agreement with H.E. Mr. Juraj Blanár, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, to establish a Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation between the two countries. This took place during the Slovak Minister’s visit to Egypt to attend the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum. The agreement comes in light of the two countries’ keenness to expand the scope of economic partnership and explore more areas of cooperation, which will reflect on developing relations to meet shared priorities.
During the signing ceremony, the two ministers held a joint discussion session. They emphasized the importance of the Joint Committee Agreement for Economic Cooperation, as it will lead to an increase in areas of cooperation between the two countries, in light of the strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union, and the recent development of relations, which was embodied in the first Egyptian-European Summit recently held in Brussels. This summit was an extension of the continuous momentum in the joint relations since March 2024.
The meeting discussed the date for the first session of the Egyptian-Slovak Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation, and the commitment to utilizing this committee to form an effective framework for cooperation that maximizes the benefit from the substantial economic potential in both countries, and the available opportunities to advance the partnership, particularly in increasing joint investments and boosting the number of tourists arriving in Egypt, specially after the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is the largest museum in the world showcasing artifacts of a single civilization. This is in addition to supporting national priorities in industrial localization and private sector empowerment.
In this context, the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation reaffirmed that Egypt cherishes its relationship with the friendly country of Slovakia, which began in the nineties of the last century. Dr. Al-Mashat added that within the framework of the evolving Egyptian-European relations, the partnership with Slovakia is of great importance given its growing role within the European Union and its endeavor to strengthen its relations with countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Minister Al-Mashat said that she looks forward for the Joint Committee to build upon the achievements in economic relations between the two countries, to contribute to increasing the volume of trade exchange, developing relations with the private sector, and increasing investments, particularly in the areas of industrial localization and exchange of expertise, in addition to coordinating joint economic stances in international forums. She stressed that the current volume of investments and trade exchange rates do not meet the aspirations of the two countries nor do they reflect their true potential.
For his part, the Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated that Slovakia is working to intensify dialogue with Global South and African countries, which are receiving attention from Slovak entrepreneurs, and that Egypt holds an important position with Slovakia.
The Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned that the signing of the Economic Cooperation Agreement represents a significant step to strengthen joint relations, as it provides a new governmental framework for bilateral cooperation between the two countries and contributes to increasing the volume of trade exchange.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian market includes about 45 Slovak companies with investments exceeding $560 million in the fields of tourism, services, industry, construction, telecommunications, agriculture, and information technology. Furthermore, the number of tourists arriving in Egypt from Slovakia in 2024 reached about 1.4 million tourists, reflecting the strength of tourism relations and the inbound flows from the Slovak market to Egypt. Meanwhile, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries is about $340.4 million. Slovakia’s exports to Egypt are concentrated in the industrial and transport sectors, such as vehicles, machinery, and equipment, while Egyptian exports to Slovakia are more diverse and include a large percentage of electronics, in addition to rubber products, fireworks, and others.
It is noteworthy that the Joint Committees mechanism is one of the main mechanisms through which Egypt seeks to enhance economic, commercial, and investment relations, as well as cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation with sisterly and friendly countries. The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation supervises approximately 55 joint committees between Egypt and many countries from various continents around the world.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation – Egypt.
