It was another busy day for Egyptian-French relations with a raft of agreements inked between the two sides across various sectors on the sidelines of French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Cairo which kicked off earlier this week.

ICYMI- Egypt and France inked a strategic partnership agreement that will focus on areas including railway industry localization, technical and vocational training, AI, cybersecurity, and green hydrogen earlier this week.

The details: Egypt, France — through the French Development Agency (AFD) and the EU inked nine agreements for soft loans and grants worth a combined EUR 262.3 mn for infrastructure projects, according to a statement. The two sides also inked a number of agreements in other sectors. We break them down below:

INFRASTRUCTURE-

#1- Alexandria electricity control center will get EUR 50 mn in financing from the AFD and an EUR 10 mn grant from the EU under the government’s Nexus for Food, Water, and Energy initiative. The center will support electricity supply and stability to Alexandria in response to increased energy demand.

#2- The New East Alexandria Wastewater Treatment Plant Project will receive EUR 68 mn in funding from the AFD and a EUR 2 mn grant. The project will support the existing East Alexandria Treatment Plant by serving an additional 1.5 mn people, treating 300k cubic meters of water per day between the completion of the first phase and 2032.

#3- The third phase of the Gabal El Asfar water treatment plant is in line for EUR 50 mn in funding from AFD, a EUR 1.5 mn AFD grant, and a EUR 10 mn grant from the EU, managed by AFD. The financing was greenlit by the cabinet in April 2024. Phase three will raise the plant’s capacity by 1 mn cubic meters per day to serve 17.5 mn people by 2040. Construction on expansion is expected to begin in early 2026.

#4- The Robeiky-Tenth of Ramadan-Belbeis freight and passenger railway line will receive EUR 70.8 mn in financing and an EUR 800k grant from the AFD. The railway had already received an EUR 40 mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development back in 2022. Construction is already underway, with 80% of bridgework and 65% of overpasses completed.

#5- A new control and distribution center is being established in Sharm El Sheikh will be developed under a newly signed contract between Schneider Electric and the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, according to a separate statement from the Electricity Ministry.

ENERGY-

Getting the ball rolling on the Ras Shoukair EUR 7 bn green hydrogen plant: A consortium of France’s EDF Renewables and Egyptian-Emirati firm Zero Waste inked a cooperation agreement with the Red Sea Ports Authority and the New and Renewable Energy Authority, under which the consortium will design, build, finance, and operate its planned EUR 7 bn green hydrogen plant in Ras Shoukair, according to an Industry Ministry statement. The consortium will also finance and develop a loading dock for the Red Sea Ports Authority and install the necessary utilities. It will also set up a desalination plant to supply the facility.

About the project: The project will have an annual production capacity of 1 mn tons of green ammonia when fully operational in early 2029 — production will be split between the local market and exports. The first of the project’s three phases will cost some EUR 2 bn and will produce 300k mn tons of green ammonia annually.

INDUSTRY-

French rolling stock company Alstom inked a land usufruct agreement with the General Authority for Land and Dry Ports for its EUR 80 mn Borg El Arab railway manufacturing complex. The first phase of the project’s development will see a components factory built on 13 acres, producing signaling systems and electrical circuits.

EDUCATION-

Egypt and France signed 42 cooperation agreements between 13 Egyptian and 22 French universities at the Egypt-France Higher Education Forum. These include 70 joint academic programs including 30 dual-degree offerings in areas like cybersecurity, environmental sustainability, and advanced technology. Another framework agreement will see the Egyptian and French universities offer 100 PhD scholarships and establish dual degrees in 15 disciplines.

HEALTHCARE-

The two countries inked four healthcare agreements, three of which are with pharma company Sanofi in areas including vaccines, diabetes, and rare diseases, with initiatives ranging from awareness campaigns and medical staff training to the rollout of digital health tools. The fourth agreement will see France’s Gustave Roussy Institute establish a licensed cancer treatment center in Cairo. The institute will also collaborate with the Egyptian Health Ministry to develop three cancer treatment centers in Egypt.

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