Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly arrived in Luanda on Monday to represent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the seventh African Union-European Union Summit. Accompanied by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, he is set to attend the opening session and deliver Egypt's address in the first plenary. On the summit's margins, he met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to discuss bilateral cooperation.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly began representing President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the seventh African Union-European Union Summit in Angola's capital Luanda on November 24-25, 2025. Accompanied by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, he plans to attend the opening session and deliver Egypt's address in the first plenary session titled “Peace, Security, Governance and Multilateralism.” He is also scheduled to hold several bilateral discussions with participating leaders.
On the sidelines of the summit, Madbouly met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, with Foreign Minister Abdelatty and Egypt's ambassador to Angola in attendance. Madbouly praised the steady growth of Egypt-Croatia cooperation, highlighting aligned positions on regional and international issues and increased high-level exchanges. He referenced the recent visit of Croatia's president and first lady to Cairo for the Grand Egyptian Museum's inauguration, the first-ever trip by Egypt's Minister of Awqaf to Zagreb, and the upcoming visit by Croatia's parliamentary speaker to Cairo for the Union for the Mediterranean parliaments' meeting.
Madbouly thanked Croatia for supporting the comprehensive strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union, including Plenković's attendance at a working dinner hosted by the European Council president in honor of al-Sisi during the first Egypt-EU summit in Brussels last October. He stressed the need to convert political alignment into wider economic ties, noting that current trade volumes fall short of political relations' strength and pointing to potential in trade, energy, tourism, and shipbuilding. He advocated advancing a proposed Ro-Ro shipping line between Egyptian and Croatian ports to ease exports of perishable agricultural goods to Croatia and Eastern Europe.
He called for quick implementation of agreements signed during Plenković's February 2025 visit to Cairo, including memoranda on investment promotion and cooperation between Alexandria and Rijeka ports, plus the 2025-2028 cultural cooperation program. Madbouly expressed Egypt's willingness to supply skilled labor for Croatia's needs in construction and tourism, where around 7,000 Egyptian workers are already employed, and welcomed regulated recruitment of trained personnel.
Regarding regional issues, Madbouly outlined Egypt's stance on Gaza and efforts to enact the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement with partners, inviting Croatia to join Egypt's planned conference on Gaza's early recovery and reconstruction. Plenković thanked Egypt for the warm reception during his recent Cairo visit and praised the Grand Egyptian Museum's cultural importance. He reaffirmed Croatia's backing for stronger Egypt-EU relations, citing his country's MED-9 presidency and its role in Euro-Mediterranean ties. He showed interest in broadening cooperation in various sectors, including skilled labor mobility, and mentioned improving Red Sea stability and rising Suez Canal traffic. Plenković invited Madbouly to visit Croatia soon, an offer the Egyptian prime minister accepted, emphasizing the value of building on recent bilateral progress. Foreign Minister Abdelatty highlighted the importance of boosting trade through better maritime links between Egyptian and Croatian ports.